


When You Were Scared.

by B0bby22



Series: My shirts have at least one ink stain (Drabbles) [1]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: :'), Angst, Before 30 years, Blood, Child Abuse, Chloroform, Fluff, Foreshadowing, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, I barely see any Henry/Sammy stuff, I'm ready to be done with this shit, Im tired, Injury, Ink, Its not too bad in this..., M/M, Mainly in chapter 7, More 'sleepovers', More Fluff, My First Fanfic, Okay maybe it is, Past Child Abuse, Poems, Racism, Segregation, Technically a sleepover, World War II, after 30 years, and shit like that, army stuff, bare with me, body horror?, i guess, idk - Freeform, idk what else to put in here, oh shit, pretty gay, so here is my take on it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 08:17:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 24,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11755761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/B0bby22/pseuds/B0bby22
Summary: Word spreads that Henry is gay after having an argument with Joey and everyone is talking about it. Wally is trying to get Joey and Henry to make up but fails to do so. Sammy has to persuade Wally to stop helping, and afterwards he hears unexpected sobbing from a closet door.





	1. Who the hell is crying??

**Author's Note:**

> This is considarably my first fanfic. I originally posted it on BATIM Amino but I'm gonna bring it here because there's only four works that have this ship and most of it is smut. I bring fluff to the table now! I also might make this a series cause why not. Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People find out that Henry is gay and well... Thats not good. Sammy has to tell Wally to stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited a photo in it. It was the photo the started this mess of a fix. Hope you enjoy.

Two days ago, most of the studio found out that the animator, Henry, is gay due to a heated argument between him and Joey. Word spread quickly. The reactions between co-workers ranged from neutral to plain disgust. It became the hot gossip and still is. He still doesn't even know that they knew his sexuality.

The small grudge between Joey and Henry was obvious. Employees would witness Henry and Joey glare at each other as they walked by. There was even a time where the young janitor, Wally Franks, tried to include them in a conversation, which lead to an uneasy vibe and Henry walking away.

Sammy was playing his piano when suddenly the door opened. He stopped abruptly to see who was there and it was none other than Norman himself. The piano started to play its notes as Sammy brought it back to life. It suddenly stopped again when Norman sat down next to him.

"I just don't get it."

He got Sammy's attention.

"After that whole argument situation, Henry has been working himself down thin or just stare at his paper for long periods of time, and Joey would walk around the building for no reason in particular, he'd just walk with this stern look on his face."

Sammy furrowed an eyebrow. He never heard about an argument.

"What argument?"

Norman turned his head to face Sammy, his eyes widened a little in shock.

"You haven't heard about the gossip lately?"

He shook his head.

"Living like a hermit again, huh? Apparently when Joey and Henry were arguing to the point where we could hear them, Joey mentioned something about Henry being gay. You know, liking other guys."

Sammy had his mouth agape. He never would expect Henry, out of everyone, to be into the same gender. It was shocking. Norman quietly chuckled.

"I know right, no one expected it, but…"

His face changed into a sad look.

"I think Wally is overworking himself about it. I mean, he's trying to get those two to make up and forget about it. Hell, he even drew a picture of them with left over ink."

Sammy rolled his eyes as Norman chuckled again. Sammy honestly couldn't care less about Wally. He was always a klutzy nuisance, yet he was still somewhat bearable. Sammy was snapped out of his thoughts when Norman talked again.

"I was wondering if maybe you could talk to the kid and try to convince him to stop and let the two work it out themselves."

He shook his head furiously.

"What the hell do you expect me to say to that good for nothing mess!"

"Try being patient with him. Tell him the facts and get on with life once he agrees. Maybe even be intimidating to him. Susie and I tried talking to him but he would always be stubborn about it. We thought since he was scared of you, he might agree with you."

Sammy started processing the plan. The more he thought about it, the possibility of it working heightened. He sighed.

"I'll do it, only because you asked me."

Norman patted Sammy's back and headed for the door.

"Just don't be too harsh on the kid."

~~~~~~~

Finally, Sammy was done with the song that should play in the next three episodes. He was always fast with his songs, but made sure that they were just perfect.

He walked into the break room. The only other person inside is Wally, who is sweeping the floor. Sammy made an audible sigh. He remembered that he needed to talk to him about backing off, or something. All he really wanted is a cup of coffee or tea or water even. Wally turned his head towards Sammy and flinched slightly before he formed a shaky smile.

"H-hey Sammy!"

Sammy walked past the kid and towards the coffee machine, immediately noticing the 'out of order' note. He sighed again.

"Everything alright?"

Sammy walked towards to tea packets and hot water. He poured himself a cup of the steamy liquid, and settled a random tea bag inside, waiting for it to be finished.

"Well, Imma go see how Henry's doin'."

"Wait."

Wally froze and turned his head to Sammy, cocking an eyebrow at him.

"I needed to talk to you about something."

He sat down in a nearby chair. Wally sat across him. He was noticeably nervous, twiddling his thumbs around with presumably sweaty hands.

"I wanted to talk about the Henry and Joey situation."

Wally seemed to be more nervous than he was before. Sammy looked over at him sternly.

"Look, how do I put this, I know that you want to help out by making Joey and Henry not be mad at each other but that's something that they should work out themselves."

Wally nodded, looking down slightly to avoid Sammy's gaze.

"It's alright to help them out and all but sometimes you just have to back away."

He nodded again.

"Oh and Wally."

He wearily looked up to see an intimidating stare by Sammy.

"If Norman, Susie, or I see you trying to help, I'll rip up those drawings you have with you, is that clear."

"Y-yes sir."

Immediately, the janitor took his broom and ran out of the room. Sammy chuckled slightly as he took his cup of tea and threw the packet away. He always wanted to scare the kid slightly since whenever he'd try, he'd get a scolding from Susie. Maybe she won't scold him this time. He took a sip of his tea scrunching his face slightly at the hotness.

~~~~~~~

As Sammy walked from the break room to his sanctuary, he heard silent sobs coming from a closed door. Even though Sammy wasn't one to be intrusive, he was curious. Usually if anyone cried around here, it was either one of the female workers or Wally or anyone who finally found out that this place was messed up. The sobs sounded deep but not too deep. They were definitely male.

He slowly opened the door and looked around. It was a room that stored bacon soup and merchandise. In the far corner was Henry, crouched down and trembling, wracking with sobs. It doesn't look like he noticed Sammy walking in at all.

He shut the door slowly and walked over to Henry, making sure to not make a noise. Once he made it over to him, he sat down next to the sobbing male.

This was a new and uncomfortable experience for Sammy. He wasn't one to be comforting or sympathetic towards others. He thought of his possibilities. He could stay and attempt to comfort the guy that he was kind of friends with or he can leave and forget about this.

That idea was immediately thrown away when he heard a sharp gasp come from Henry. Sammy looked over to see him looking at him with widened, puffy red eyes and a wide mouth. His knees were trembling as he sputtered over words.

"You d-d-don't know, d-do you?"

"What? About you being gay?"

Henry let out a loud sob and began crying again. He was muttering things like 'I'm sorry', 'Please don't hurt me', and 'I'll like girls I promise'. It was sad to watch him make lies and promises that he'll never keep so that Sammy wouldn't hurt him or mock him.

The familiar sigh that Sammy was accustomed to rang out as he started to moved his knuckles along Henry's spine. This easily made him quiet, despite him still whimpering from now then. He then moved his knuckles to the left side of Henry's back, creating a circle motion that slowly went downward and upward.

Sammy would never admit it to anyone, but he kind of liked doing this. Relaxing Henry to the point where he's almost like jello in his hands. His trembling was slightly still there but it wasn't as bad as it was before.

Bit by bit, Sammy moved his knuckles around Henry's back, easing any tension. Henry would sigh or groan in relief as a response. After some time, Sammy realized what he was doing and stopped, receiving a small disappointed whine from Henry.

"What the hell am I even doing. I come in here, curious as to why someones crying and all of a sudden I'm massaging you."

He picked up his cup of tea, which has turned cold at this point, and stood up.

"Wait!"

He turned his face to see Henry staring back at him. He looked calm and stable, it's probably one of the only times Sammy has seen him look so vulnerable.

"Can you stay here a bit longer?"

"What. So I could massage your back until your practically drooling."

Sammy scoffed as Henry shook his head.

"I don't feel okay going back out there, not when the entire studio knows. You seem to be the only one who's okay with me being gay."

Sammy made a 'tch' noise.

"No, I'm not the only one who's okay with it, but if you insist that I should stay here, might as well. It's chaotic out there and I'm already done with writing three episodes of songs, so consider yourself lucky."

Henry smiled as Sammy sat back down next to him. They were both sure no one would find them due to the building being a labyrinth of doors and stairs. The silence was thick until Sammy slurped his tea and yawned.

"Hey Henry?"

"Hmm?"

"Does this taste like peppermint to you, cause I swore I chose peppermint since the coffee isn't working."

Sammy gave him the cup of tea and sipped some of it. He made a puzzled noise and gave it back to Sammy.

"That's far from peppermint, it taste more like chamomile tea."

As if on cue, Sammy yawned again while muttering a curse word. He swore he picked up the tea bag that gives him energy instead of the bag that makes you fall asleep for a million hours.

The storage room is warm, not the uncomfortable, stuffy kind, but the soothing kind, which wasn't helping his sleep problem. God, Sammy remembers when one of his co-workers fell asleep and Joey scolded at them like there was no tomorrow. He already had enough scolding from Susie and he cant even bare that.

Sammy looked over to Henry, who was silently reading a book. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, probably. He started to doze off slightly until his head hit something and he shot up. Henry looked at him and cocked an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"It's the tea taking affect isn't it?"

"……… Yeah."

"It's okay if you're falling asleep. You can sleep for a couple minutes or an hour or so and I'll wake you up. Does that sound okay?"

Sammy thought about it and nodded.

"Do I just sleep like this?"

"You can lay your head down on my shoulder."

He hesitated slightly.

"…Promise you won't do anything weird."

"Jesus Christ, I'm not going to do anything to you in your sleep."

"You better not."

Sammy lowered his head onto Henry's shoulder. He scooted over a bit more to Henry to make himself a tad bit more comfortable. After five minutes, Sammy fell asleep.

~~~

Wally opened the storage room door to get two posters out so that he could cover the hole in the wall. As he was about to reach them, he notices two figures in the room as well. One being Henry, who was looking up at him, and the other being the frightening Sammy, who was laying his head on Henry's shoulder, sleeping so peacefully. It was the first time Wally has ever seen him look at peace.

Henry put a finger to his mouth and made a 'shhhh' noise, then whispered something.

"Don't tell anyone."

Wally nodded his head, having his toothy grin plastered on his face. He slowly closed the door and walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To new comers, prepare yourself.


	2. It'll be okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything was fine... Until Henry is hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe that I'm already making a second chapter for this. I thought It'd be a couple days but apparently not. Also, I have a Batim related ask blog on tumblr if you want t check it out. Its ask-joeystudios-makers-of-bendy. Feel free to ask anything!

It's been a few weeks since the argument. Henry and Joey made up and went on with their lives with a renewed relief.

Things were the normal chaotic mess it always was. Get the animations done on time, get the music recorded, get this on film, and what not. The animation crew was struggling while the music department wasn't having much trouble. As long as Sammy knew what was going on in the next episode, he can make a song within the next two to four hours or so.

Sammy was playing a tune on his piano. He didn't think much about the encounter he had with Henry. Yeah, he may be a short tempered, pessimistic asshole, but that didn't mean he didn't care. He somewhat felt what Henry was feeling. Scared, alone, weak. He felt that a lot and it wasn't fun.

The pianos notes went from a major melody to a minor tune. It was a quirk he had. The instrument he plays would represent his mood if he wasn't too focused on the piece. The melancholy melody wavered around the air, filling the room with a depressing vibe.

"What's with the song, Sammy?"

He slammed his fingers down on the keys and looked up to see Susie, standing in the doorway. Sammy lowered his head down a bit, ready to embrace whatever scolding he was going to get… but he never got it.

"I was going to talk about that stunt you pulled with Wally again, but you're playing a sad song and you never really play those unless your feeling the music."

Sammy looked up and stared at her with a sense of boredom.

"What if it's a song for the show."

"The episode is about Bendy spending the day with Alice and Boris but Boris becomes the third wheel. That doesn't sound sad, does it."

"Kind of."

Susie sighed. She grabbed a handkerchief from inside her bra and went over to Sammy. She bent down a little and wiped his face with it. When she was done, she showed the water stains on it.

"You're crying."

'When the hell did that happen?' he thought as he felt his cheek. It was somewhat sticky.

"Need to talk about it?"

He stared back at her with a disgusted look on his face.

"No! I don't even know why I'm crying."

She shrugged her shoulders and headed for the door.

"Okay then, but do me a favor."

"And that is?"

"Stop intimidating the head lights out of Wally!"

She shut the door, leaving him to himself again. He knew he wasn't going to get himself out of that one.

~~~

After an hour or so, Sammy started walking around the band room, pawning at things, playing a few tunes now and then, mess with the ink residue on the floor, and so on.

After some time of playing the instruments, he tried to play joyful tunes but they faded to depressing rhythms every now and then.

Sammy yawned and batted his eyes. He couldn't fall asleep, even if he wanted to, he couldn't.

Another few minutes passed and Sammy was slowly dozing off. He'd snap back into reality when he'd fall off the stool he's sitting in. Tiredness was definitely winning this battle so far, but Sammy didn't give up.

Suddenly, the door flung open and panicked gasps mixed with klutzy footsteps ran around the place. Sammy looked up to see who it was. It was Henry, who is bleeding from his nose and ear. He has a black eye and numerous bruises. He is bleeding a tad from his left arm.

Sammy immediately got up and got hit with a wave of lightheaded-ness, causing him to almost fall over.

"Henry, what the hell happened to you!"

Henry quickly ran over to him, frazzled.

"I need to hide!"

A peculiar adrenaline hit Sammy, knocking the tiredness out of his system. He agreed to help and looked around for some sort of decent hiding spot. It suddenly hit him that he could stay in his office since no one dared to go in it.

Quickly, he grabbed Henry by the arm, earning him a yelp, and threw him in his office. He shut the door and ran back to his piano and played an aggressive melody.

Half way through the song, the door opened with a loud thud. Sammy looked up to see the figure walk around angrily, checking every nook and cranny. He was about to open the door to Sammy's office until Sammy stopped him.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing!"

The man flinched slightly at the roughness in his voice. He started to grow a tad nervous.

"You see, I lost something and I was wondering if I could check your office to see if it's in there."

"Did you go into my office lately?"

The man backed away a bit as Sammy gave him an angered glare.

"I uh, no."

"Then get out of here!"

He looked back at the door, then to Sammy, and ran out of the recording studio. Sammy walked over to the door, shut it, and sighed. He looked around for a bit and walked over to his office door. As he went inside, he quickly ducked his head in order to avoid the bat that swung at him. Henry dropped the bat and walked over to Sammy.

"What is the meaning of that Henry!"

"Sorry, I thought you were the other co-worker."

"Forget about him. He's not coming in here anytime soon."

He closed the door then dusted himself off and took a good look at Henry. He's been busted to his head and down to his legs. Blood started dripping rapidly from his nose, ear, and arm.

"What happened to you?"

Sammy grabbed the first aid kit and started working on Henry's open wounds.

"Well, let's see, I was walking back from the break room with coffee, then all of a sudden I'm pushed to the floor and punched several times. I didn't process it at first but when I did, I started kicking and screaming to get away. It took awhile, but I was finally free. I ran to find a hiding spot and this was the closest place I thought of."

Sammy cocked an eyebrow at Henry as he finished wrapping his arm up.

"Closest? The break room is like two miles away from here."

They both chuckled until Henry hissed in pain at the medicine being applied to his lip.

"Yeah, I know it hurts, get used to it."

"I can deal with it, it was just unexpected."

"Stop moving your lips."

Henry rolled his eyes as his lip and eye are being treated. He has tissues stuffed in his nose and ear to stop the bleeding and cloth wrapped around his arm and thigh so no more blood leaks. Sammy slowly got Henry up on his feet and made it out of his office and into the hall. Henry had a slight limp to his step due to his aching muscles and the pain in his thigh. It was similar to carrying a drunk friend to a car.

After what seemed like miles, they finally made it to Joey's office. Sammy opened the door to see Joey listening to the guy that Sammy saw earlier. The man was complaining about something or someone, and it seemed to be directed towards Henry. Joey looked to see Sammy keeping Henry on his feet.

"Henry, what happened?"

The complaint ended as the man stared back at Henry in disgust. Joey walked over to the two. Henry was about to say something until Sammy butted in and pointed to the man.

"I was working on my songs until Henry ran into my room looking for a place to hide. After doing that and having to deal with that asshole! Henry told me that he'd been jumped on and that ass beat the living shit out of him!"

Joey looked slightly mortified. He looked over Henry's injuries and then back at the man with an angered face.

"Is this true."

The man hesitated then nodded his head. Joey walked up to him and held a hand out.

"Give me your keys."

He slowly did.

"You're fired. Now get out of here!"

The man left the room, not before getting a hard kick from Sammy. He growled and then resumed to exit the building. Joey's attention is cut back to Henry.

"I'm so sorry that this happened, I should've-"

"There was nothing you could do anyway Joey. Don't be sorry."

~~~

That same day, a meeting took place. Joey discussed that violence would not be tolerated at all and that if anyone else wanted to leave because of Henry's sexuality, they had the chance to leave. No one left, not even the people who are disgusted of Henry.

On the way back to the break room, Sammy was chatting with Henry for a bit.

"So, just out of curiosity."

Henry looked at Sammy from his coffee mug.

"Go on?"

Sammy fidgeted with his suspender.

"Again, just out of curiosity, would you ever consider me a date?"

He looked away and continued twirling his suspender around. Henry stared at him for a couple long seconds, then burst into laughter. Sammy looked at him shocked for a bit until Henry collected himself, wiping a few tears from his eyes.

"I can't believe you'd ask me that! Oh my goodness gracious!"

He started laughing again. Another few seconds past until he stopped.

"Look Sammy, the answer is I have a thing that most people have, and that's standards. The possibility of us being a couple is the same as, I don't know, me dating Susie."

Henry chuckled again. Sammy was kind of disappointed, strangely. For some reason, he wished Henry would've said a maybe at least.

The awkward tension hit. Henry was taking sips of coffee while Sammy started walking away slowly.

"I'm going to be in my Sanctuary if you need me. Get well soon, umm… Bye."

He sped walk out of the break room and into the recording studio to his office. He slammed the door shut and sat down, putting his hands on his head.

"What the hell is wrong with me."


	3. Confusion, maybe some realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sammy starts acting differently for about a month and Wally has no chill.

Changes in Sammy were starting to get noticeable. Not to himself, but to others. It wasn't much at first. Maybe he got more expressive and moved around the building a bit more but that's it. Others thought it was a form of procrastination, yet why would the known hermit come out of his sanctuary? 

As days rolled into weeks, the sudden change in attitude disproved it to be procrastination. He seemed a bit on edge or a little too responsive. He'd hang out in the break room more often or compliment other co-workers work.

Wally dusted some of the items off. As much he wanted to become one of the animators, being a janitor wasn't half bad. Plus, he wasn't really good at drawing Bendy, Boris, or Alice the same way as the other animators draw them. He kept on dusting while whistling a small made up tune. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Henry walking by. As he walked by, Sammy walked out of a room and bumped into Henry, accidentally knocking him over. Wally turned his head slightly to see what would happen. Sammy stared awkwardly down at Henry, muttering an apology then offering a hand to get him up. Henry took his hand and got up, saying a brief 'thank you,' and then went on his way. Sammy was left there, a tad bit confused as the slightest blush appeared on his face, or is that the lighting, who knew. 

Wally smirked and started to giggle as he went back to dusting. 

"What are you giggling about?"

His giggling subsided into a bigger smirk.

"Oh nothing Sammy, definitely nothing. Don't worry about."

Wally heard him walking away while muttering 'weird kid' under his breath. When he was gone, Wally continued to giggle at the thought of Sammy, the person he feared the most, getting flustered. Flustered! He smiled as he walked over to the janitors closet. 

'Who knew Sammy swung that way.' He thought.  
~~~  
The piano's notes sung in harmony as they were strung together. The song had a somewhat romantic vibe to it yet it also had a upbeat rhythm. The episode is about Bendy trying to meet up with Alice for a date but she keeps getting followed and talked to by other men. 

His fingers danced along the keys until they stopped when his door opened up. He looked up to see who it was, and it was Wally who smiled at him. A smile that was a bit different.

"Don't mind me, just cleaning up a bit."

Sammy nodded and continued to play, every now and then stopping to write down note placements. He eventually forgot that Wally was around and sang some lyrics along with the song, even though they weren't going to have someone sing it in the cartoon. It was fun though. 

He stopped again when he heard a slight gasp. His attention turned to Wally, who's mouth was agape and his eyes sparkled slightly in amazement.

"I didn't know you could sing that good! I mean I knew that you sang but I never heard you do it until now!"

Sammy chuckled nervously, scratching his neck.

"You think?"

"Absolutely! You have a nice voice for it."

He continued sweeping the floors until he looked back at Sammy again for a moment.

"Hey Sammy, do you notice that you're a bit, I don't know, different lately?"

"What makes you say that?"

It was Wally's turn to be nervous now.

"Well, you're a lot more expressive now and less of an asshole. You roam the building quite frequently."

Wally started grinning widely now. Something was up.

"And I noticed that after you bumped into Henry, you blushed."

Sammy slammed his fist on to the piano keys, not too hard where it breaks them, but enough where it creates a loud noise.

"No the hell I did not!"

"Really, I don't believe you. You totally blushed."

"Alright, fine, where's your proof freckle face?"

The grin grew wider.

"The fact that I was giggling nearby and you asked me what I was giggling about, then in response I said don't worry about it. Also, not that this is any proof, but a month ago, you were sleeping on Henry's shoulder in the storage closet."

'Shit' Sammy thought. The kid got him good, but how did he know about him sleeping? Did Henry tell him?

"Who told you!"

"I walked in by accident. Henry told me not to tell anyone. Buuuuuuut, besides that."

Sammy glanced at him nervously, sweating slightly. He underestimated the kid.

"I believe that you might have a small crush Henry."

He could feel the blush on his face starting to form. It suddenly got very hot in the room, and Wally grinning that annoying, toothy grin wasn't helping him.

"I doubt it. Yeah, I might've been acting different lately, but who knows what it could be about. I know it's anything but that."

Wally picked up his broom and walked his way to the door.

"I bet you're gonna think about it late at night."

He walked out of the door, shutting it behind him, leaving Sammy alone once again. Sammy narrowed his eyes at the door then aggressively scribbled notes down on the sheet of paper and played the song again.  
~~~  
That night, Sammy stared at his ceiling. Thoughts and questions raced in his mind and he didn't know what to make of it. Did he like men? Well, he liked women but he wasn't sure about men. Was he being a bit more active? Probably? Was he more expressive? Maybe? Did he like Henry? ………

"Son of a bitch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know where I'm going with any of this. Sammy's confused, I'm confused. I feel like what Henry said hit him hard. I'm trying my best to make this as (somewhat) realistic (if that's even the right word) as possibly. I don't want their whole relationship rushed. Bare with me.
> 
> Edit: Fix Grammar and spelling


	4. You came to me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry is about to leave but Jane, one of his co-workers, decides that they need a small 'chat.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had too much fun writing this.

Henry tiredly scribbled down a rough draft for a new episode. Barely anyone was in the building. Only a couple animators who were catching up, like Henry… and there was Wally finishing his cleaning routine. 

He could never understand why Wally wouldn't want to ask for a promotion, on the other hand, cleaning staff was low, and Wally is extremely good at it. He even cleaned up things that no one would ever go near, like vomit with chunks of mystery food. Henry grimaced at the memory.

Joey was around too. He caught up on bills and paperwork, but he mostly stayed just to see if anyone needed any help. It was nice of him but most of the time, he would go up to workers, pat their back, and talk about how the impossible is possible. It got tiring but it proved to be some motivation.

Immediately, Henry grabbed his desk and pulled at it. He almost fell over while he spaced out. Quickly, he finished the few sketches he needed to do and packed up his things, yawning while doing so. He took notice of the cracks he felt pop in his back, and then cracked his neck as well. 'Today was tiring but tomorrow might be better, or worse,' he thought.

Right as he was about to walk out, a co-worker approached him. It was Jane. She was a lovely lady with hazel brown hair, smooth pale skin, and lovely apple green eyes. She wore a navy blue dress and short white heels. Jane's lovely, but Henry wasn't interested. She approached him slowly, moving her hips side to side as she walked.

"Hey there handsome."

That was a bit uncomfortable but maybe it was just a compliment. 

"Oh uh, hey there Jane. Is everything alright?"

"Splendid~."

Okay, that sounded a bit too seductive but it was nothing much than an answer. She surely has to know that he isn't interested.

"So where are you going?"

"Home so I can sleep and deal with another day."

"Oooo! Can I come?"

Now maybe she is trying to flirt or something. 

"No Jane, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I could even drive you there."

Okay, she's definitely trying to do something… and how would she know where his house is?

"Um Jane, I'm fine, really."

She reached out, touching Henry's chest and slowly brought her hand down to his waist. Henry pushed her slightly, but she went back and proceeded to go down there. He pushed her again and took a step back.

"Stop, I don't like it."

"What's wrong big boy? Afraid~?"

Without thinking, Henry ran further in the building than out of it. He needed to find Joey, who hopefully is in his Office. He could hear Jane run after him, but her heels weren't helping her go any faster. 

It seemed like hours until he finally found Joeys Office. He opened the door and ran inside, almost running into a bookshelf. Henry looked around, but Joey was no where to be seen. He was about to make a run for it until the door slammed shut. 

"I didn't know that you wanted to be somewhere else."

She proceeded to walk towards him. He looked around frantically for another exit but was pinned down. Trapped. She proceeded to hold both his wrists in one hand over his head, and cover his mouth with the other. Henry couldn't move, he was paralyzed with fear. 

"Don't make a sound."

Jane proceeded to move her hand from his mouth down his neck, tracing his chest, and finally near his belt buckle. He tried moving away or struggling but he couldn't. Jane was really strong. He whimpered, tears began to form in his eyes as she tugged at his belt strap. She then went towar-

"What is the meaning of this!"

Both of their heads turn towards the door. Joey stood there with an angered and confused glare. Henry took the chance to move himself away from Jane and run towards him.

"Jane came up to me and we had small talk b-but she then proceeded to make a move and I told her to stop but she wouldn't so I ran here but you weren't here a-a-and she tried, she t-tried to t-t-touch me!"

Henry clung onto Joey's shoulder, sobbing slightly. Joey's head snapped to Jane, who stood there with her hands behind her back.

"Is this true, Ms. Kline?"

"N-no! Henry made advances towards me and shoved me in here and tried to hurt me!"

Jane looked at the floor and tapped her heels together. Joey looked sternly at her. He knew that she was trying to play innocent.

"That's highly unluckily Ms. Kline. For starters, Henry likes, other men."

Joey carefully worded that sentence.

"And most of everyone in this studio knows that he would never make sexual advances on anyone, not even to the people he likes. Not only that, but when I came in here, your hand was attempting to unbuckle his belt."

Joey leaned his head down near Henry's and whispered the word 'leave' to him. Henry got up, wiped his tears away, and made a run for it. Before Jane had the opportunity to run after him, Joey closed the door.

"Don't think you can run from this. We need to have a talk."  
~~~  
The streets were deserted and looked bland as Henry drove through them. He doesn't know how long Joey is going to keep Jane at bay. Now that he thinks about it, she has the possibility of knowing where he lives. 

He stopped at the red light. Knowing that she might know where he lives, didn't make him want to go home. He thought about the other places he could crash in for the night. Norman? Maybe, though Norman has a wife and kids and that would be strange if Henry showed up to his house all of a sudden at twelve in the morning. Susie? She already has enough stress on her plate. David? He's just a bit… weird. 

His mind circled with names upon names until he remembered Sammy. Sammy? He lives in a nice small house, maybe in an apartment. He's been having a lot of character to him lately and he's actually really caring. I guess that settles it.

Henry drove away towards Sammy's apartment when the light turned green. He smiled to himself. This should work.  
~~~  
Sammy tossed and turned, throwing the sheets off of him. He couldn't possibly have a crush on someone he started to get to know better. He couldn't have a crush on someone he helped out three months ago. He couldn't have a crush on a guy. A guy!

The sound of knocking wavered through his apartment. Sammy shot up from his pillow. He quickly got off his bed and put on a nice pair of boxers and a shirt. The person knocked again.

"Hey Sammy?"

It was Henry… Out of everyone, it had to be Henry. He groaned slightly and made his way to the door. He hesitated, then proceeded to open it. It was Henry in the flesh. His eyes were puffy and red, so was his face. He must've cried.

"What happened to you?"

"Long story."

"You can tell me. I'm not tired."

Sammy allowed Henry inside his some what decent apartment and locked the door. He looked around. There was a piano, a few bookshelves, a good view of the streets below them, a very small tv, and of course a small kitchen, table, bed, and dresser. It was comforting. 

"So why did you come here?"

Henry's attention was snapped back to Sammy.

"Oh, well, you know Jane Kline, right?"

Sammy took a seat on his bed and Henry sat next to him. Sammy could feel his face grow a bit redder.

"Yeah. What about her?"

Henry started explaining what happened in vivid detail. From her using inappropriate nicknames, to him running away, trapping himself, getting caught by Joey, and so on.

"So basically, I almost got raped."

Sammy stared at him in disbelief. He couldn't imagine Henry going through that. Jane probably wanted to prove to him that he was 'attracted' to her. This made him furious.

"I came here because I don't know how long Joey is going to scold her and the fact that she might know where I live scares the shit out of me. I thought that I'd stay here for the night since I trust you the most."

This was all nuts. Sammy felt angry yet happy. Angry because Jane did attempt to rape Henry and happy because Henry trusts him. He internally smiled.

"Well, if you're going to sleep here, I'm not going to have you sleep in those clothes."

He proceeded to point at Henry's nice clothing that was slightly stained with ink. Sammy went to his dresser and grabbed a pair of fresh, barely used pajamas.

"Here, wear this."

"Um please look away."

"The bathroom is over there. You can change in there."

"Oh, uh, thanks."

Henry walked into the bathroom and started to change. Meanwhile, Sammy looked around, trying to see where Henry would sleep, but his best option would be in his bed.

The bathroom door opened. Henry stood there with pajamas that surprisingly fit him well. 

"Looks good on you."

Shit. That might've sounded too nice. Wait, why did he care?

"Thanks Sam."

"Please don't call me that. Just use Sammy."

He scoffed.

"Anyway, I'm trying to figure out where you'll sleep."

"I mean, we can sleep together unless you don't want to."

As soon as Sammy's blush began to fade, it came back twice as red. He was tempted but what if someone somehow opened his door and saw them? He sighed.

"I'll sleep on the couch and you can take my bed."

"Okay Sammy-o."

"Please stop."

Henry sat then laid down on the bed, pulling the sheets closer to him. It was quite cozy actually, maybe better than his actual bed. He snuggled into it. Sammy grabbed a spare blanket and plopped himself on the sofa after turning the lights off. 

"Night Henry."

"Good night Sam."

Henry snickered as Sammy groaned. After that, they both fell into a deep slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm going to have too much fun writing chapter five.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has been leaving supportive comments and kudos. It has been helping me a lot and motivating me to do this. Thank you!


	5. Feels real Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dude… Duuuuuuuuuuuude. Fluff everywhere. The plot thickens. Sorry sorry.
> 
> Sammy has a nightmare and Henry wants to tell Sammy why Joey and him argued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I'm ready :).

Plop!

Sammy groaned as he lifted himself off the ground, putting his hand to his head. He looked around. He probably fell off his couch while he was sleeping. At least he didn't wake Henry up.

After a moment, he started to recall what he was dreaming of. Ink, screaming, pain, crying, laughing. Sammy trembled. Even though it was something he barely recognized, it shook him to the core. Something about it was off. 

He got back onto the couch and tried to go to sleep, but he couldn't. He didn't want to dream that dream again. That, nightmare. His trembling got worse. It was, presumably, three in the morning. 

He considered his options. Option one or two. It was hard to choose one, but he eventually made a choice.

Slowly and shakily, Sammy got out of his couch and walked over towards his bed. He stared down at Henry, who looked so calm and peaceful. It made Sammy hesitate and rethink his choice. What he was about to do seemed rude and it made him look like a coward, a prissy. Yet, he was still shaking like a leaf. He sighed and continued with a new found embarrassment.

Sammy tapped Henry's shoulder lightly. No response. He did it again, a tad bit harder. Henry groaned and turned his head slightly. Again, he tapped his shoulder roughly now. Henry slowly opened his eyes.

"What do you want Sammy."

"Oh um."

Just like that, he immediately lost his words. Sammy stuttered and shook.

"Jesus Sam, are you okay? It's like you saw a ghost. Did you have a nightmare?"

Ignoring his nickname, he nodded. Slowly, he found the words and proceeded to ask Henry the question. 

"Y-yes. It was pretty bad. I was wondering if I-I could sleep with you… If you don't mind! I mean I ca-

Henry rose his hand up and smiled, stopping Sammy from continuing his sentence.

"I'm fine with it."

Henry moved over a tad and lifted the blanket. Sammy, who was still trembling, got in and quickly pulled the blanket over himself. 

"Goodnight again Sammy-o."

"Can you stop with the nicknames."

Henry chuckled and turned away from Sammy, falling asleep. Despite having Henry next to him, he still couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about that dream and how utterly disturbing it was. Ink was everywhere. He remembered begging and screaming at someone, or something. One thing that stuck out a lot was the laugh. That laugh wasn't human. It had malevolent intent. 

Twenty minutes must've passed. Sammy remembered bits and pieces of the nightmare. As he continued to think, he felt something sneak around him. 

Sammy jerked his head over to see Henry holding him, almost as if he was a teddy bear. He still looked sound asleep. All of Sammy's thoughts were washed away with the soothing feeling of comfort. The feeling felt nice and new. The feeling only appeared when ever he'd get scared and his dad or mom came to him and hushed his sobbing with soft words and reassuring caresses. But that was only when he was a child.

Without thinking, Sammy slowly turned over and buried his head in Henry's chest. He slowly snuck his arms around him. Henry must be a deep sleeper for him not to wake up at that, but it didn't matter. The fact that this comfort made him feel at ease was what mattered. Sammy closed his eyes and felt himself drift off into a relaxing slumber.

This feels right.  
~~~  
The morning light shown brightly into Sammy's apartment. Sammy slowly woke up feeling a tad bit groggy. He sat up and tried to remember what happened last night. There was a nightmare, he was scared, he went to ask Henry something, and then they cuddled… Wait. He looked over to see no one next to him. 

He looked around to see Henry in the kitchen, wearing the same crappy clothes as yesterday. He definitely took a shower since his hair is frizzy and slightly wet. The smell of food filled the air.

"Oh, you're awake. I thought I'd make some breakfast for you and me. Take a guess at what it is."

A wide grin formed on Henry's face as Sammy got out of his bed, picked up a fresh pair of clothes, and went over to the bathroom to do what he needs to do. He closed the door but answered Henry's question. 

"I don't know. Grits?"

Henry laughed as he flipped the contents in the pan.

"Nope! You have one more guess."

Sammy sighed, putting the clothes on the floor. He got in the shower and turned it on. He yelped when cold water hit his skin. Quickly, he turned the handle to red, which made the water burning hot. After a minute or so, he found a decent temperature and started to put shampoo in his hair.

"Ummm, eggs?"

"You're pretty close. Do you want to know what it is?"

Sammy quickly got all the soap off of him and turned off the water. 

"Sure."

"One eyed Sam."

He could hear Henry laugh outside the closed door. Sammy had to admit that it was pretty clever, he even chuckled a tad. 

"God damnit Henry."

Once Sammy dried himself off and put on his clothes, he opened the door. Upon opening the door, the smell of salt, pepper, and goodness hit his nostrils. Henry was sitting at the table and ate his well made breakfast. Sammy took a seat and looked down at his plate. Henry wasn't kidding, it was one eyed Sam. Fried bread with egg inside it and some cheese on it. It looked delicious.

"I feel bad now."

Henry furrowed an eyebrow, swallowing his food.

"Why?"

"You're the guest of this apartment and you're the one making breakfast and what not."

"It's the least I can do, really. I'm grateful that you even allowed me to come over on such a short notice."

"Still."

Sammy cut a piece and ate it. It's not the worst but it's pretty decent. 

"Well, I already made breakfast so there's no reason to blame yourself when you can't change it… or you can but you'll feel crappy for most of the day and that's no good."

They both chuckled slightly. 

"Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"And that is?"

"Remember when Joey and I argued, about, four months ago?"

"Yeah, how can I forget."

Actually he could forget. The only thing he remembers is seeing Henry cry and then he was sleeping on his shoulder when he was done.

"Well, some people at work speculate that we argued because he found out that I was gay."

Sammy stuffed his mouth full of egg. Every bite he takes, it gets better. He swallowed it.

"Was that not it?"

Henry shook his head.

"No. We argued over something he wanted built in the studio."

"And what's that."

"The ink machine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I was legit searching up on what type of food they were eating during the Great Depression (even though this takes place in 1940). They ate popcorn with milk and sugar! Imma try that cause that sounds really soggy but delicious. Also one eyed Sam is really good. It's just egg in the center of bread and you can put cheese on it or what ever.
> 
> Anywho, hope you like this. The (somehow okay) plot thickens. Man, I already know how I want this to end but I want to make this series be a good one and not a rushed one. So yeah. Until I can stay up at night again and write this. See ya!


	6. Beware what you'll be stubborn about in the future or some crap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry tells Sammy about the ink machine. Sammy hangs out with Norman. Joey gets a surprise visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case to those who are READING BEFORE THE SOLAR ECLIPSE, listen to me. Keep all your pets inside and don't look at the moon cockblocking the sun for too long. It can actually damage your eyes severely to the point of blindness. Heed my warning.
> 
> It's legit 2:30 am. I'm just gonna say that I don't know much about army stuff. Bare with me.

"Ink machine? What's that?"

"Not good news."

Henry lowered his head. This seemed to be important to tell.

"Joey called me in to talk about the machine. He explained what it would do and how it would be beneficial to us…"

He sighed. 

"When I asked him if there was anything else it could do, because a bulky machine couldn't just supply us with ink… Dear god."

Henry's face twisted into one of fear. Sammy was concerned now. What could a machine do to make him act like this. Hell, his hands were fidgeting and shaking slightly. Sammy took another bite of egg and bread to ease his thoughts. Henry sighed.

"He told me that it was a rough draft, but some of the papers were accidentally knocked off and when he was picking them all up I-I saw something I shouldn't have seen and dear lord it scares me."

"What was it?"

Sammy hesitantly put a hand on Henry's shoulder, hoping that it'll calm him a tad. Henry gripped at Sammy's arm and subconsciously put it closer to his neck. His hand warmed up a tad. He didn't even knew that they were cold.

"I saw an inky being drawn on a piece of paper. It had no legs, no face but had a mouth, and sharp claws. Joey drew it."

He slightly laughed a little at the accidental pun but soon put back on a serious and scared face.

"I told him we couldn't do it and that's why we argued. He randomly called me queer probably to hurt my feelings but Sammy listen to me."

Both their eyes met with concern. Sammy's hand somehow got to Henry's cheek but if it calmed him down, then he didn't mind. It was the least of his concerns anyway.

"If Joey ever, and I mean EVER, builds the machine. Warn the others and LEAVE. Knowing how stubborn Joey is, he might build it anyway."

Tiredly, Henry got up, put his dishes in the sink, got all of his stuff, and made his way to the door.

"Thank you for letting me stay over. If you need or want to come over to my place, feel free. And remember what I said about the machine. See you at work later."

And with that, Henry left, leaving Sammy with his thoughts.

~~~

"Sheep sheep sheep, it's time for sleep."

Norman sat near Sammy as he sang. The notes seemed to play on their own, it was almost like Sammy didn't play them. 

"Wait, hold on Sammy."

He abruptly stopped singing when Norman talked to him. 

"Yes Norman? Anything wrong?"

"Do you think we should change this note to be G major instead of F minor?"

Norman said as he pointed at the specific note he was talking about. Sammy played the verse again but changing the note. It did sound a tad bit better. 

"Guess you're right. Sounds great."

He took the music sheet down and replaced the note with a G major note. He smiled down at it then looked towards Norman, who was reviewing it over.

"Seems good to me, let's play it one more time, just in case."

And with that, the notes began to play and Sammy started singing. It began to end already. Norman clapped when Sammy stopped playing the piano.

"That was wonderful! I can't believe it ended already! Joey is gonna love it!"

He perked up by this.

"Speaking of which."

This caught Norman off guard and his claps subsided.

"About Joey, did you notice anything odd with him."

Norman scratched his head and looked somewhere else, as if to recall something.

"He has been in his office a lot lately, been muttering about something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know Sammy. Ink? Something about that. Maybe the animators are running out of it?"

Sammy's face deadpanned. Ink. He would've loved to hear almost any other word than that. It reminds him of Henry's warning. He was tempted to tell Norman what Joey is about to do, but stopped himself.

"How, peculiar."

Norman nodded in agreement.

~~~

Joey was working on his paperwork, trying to get them done so that he could move onto better things. A buzzing noise rang out in his room, meaning that someone was visiting the building.

He settled his work in a drawer and walked out of his office, towards the main exit. Upon opening it, he greeted who ever was there. When he looked to see who it was, he frowned. 

"Hello Mr. Drew. We were wondering if you have any employees that wouldn't mind fighting in the war with us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, be careful tommorow. My report! Popcorn with milk and sugar is very similar to somewhat soggy cereal and I love it. I also made a crappy animation on my YouTube account. It's called 'Wally showing Joey how he stays optimistic.' Feel free to watch it. Anyway imma go to bed now or read camp camp stuff cause I'm trash for it. Till next time guys.


	7. Better Now Than Never

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sammy decides that today's the day. Also a little look into Norman's life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imma immediately say that segregation mentions and stuff appear for a short period of time, so if you're sensitive to that stuff, proceed with caution.
> 
> I think I rushed a bit on this (I wouldn't be surprised) but tomorrow, I have to deal with the dentist and I'm filled with anxiety for another reason altogether. Hope you like this.

It's been days since the visit from the Army. Everyone, especially Joey, was on edge. They already had 'buy bonds' on the side of their posters and now they want to take employee's from the studio. Some of the people in the studio were nonchalant about it since their physical appearance might make the Army not interested in them. Those were the lucky people.

In Sammy's sanctuary, Sammy was writing an idea down. Writing something always calmed him. He was thinking about the Army, what they would do, who they would take. A thought struck him. What if they took him? What if they took Henry? The Army had to be homophobic, they surely wouldn't want Henry… Unless Joey never told them. 

He took the piece of paper and tore it, crumpled it, and threw it away. Thoughts began to rise up and pop into questions. Yes, he came to terms on the fact that he has a crush on Henry, who he's gotten to know better, but if the Army took him away, how would Sammy tell Henry what he was feeling. Was he even into him? For all he knew, Henry thought Sammy was straight.

He tapped nervously on his desk, trying to come up with a plan. The Army was going to announce the new soldiers tomorrow. Sammy hit his desk hard, smiling, as an idea formed in his head. He ran out of his room and paced in the hall towards Henry. 

Better now than never.

~~~

The band was playing the new song for the episode. It was a song Boris was going to sing. Norman stared down at some of the violinist's. The movements of their hands and bow's always fascinated him for some reason. It was intriguing.

The song came to an end when the animation stopped on Boris smiling down at the sleeping herd of sheep. Everyone got up, and made it out of the door to take a break. Norman followed along. He realized that he needed to go to the bathroom badly and he was searching around frantically. There were bathrooms everywhere, but he couldn't go in them. The crowd slowly dissipated and Norman was running in search for a bathroom he could use. There was one there and one over here, but they couldn't be used despite being empty. 

It seemed like it took him an hour to find it, when really it was only just a few minutes. Norman found the bathroom that he was looking for. The sign read, 'Colored Bathrooms.' He sighed as he walked in. Joey was kind enough to even give him a job, but why keep these segregated bathrooms? They were bad enough already, unless Joey didn't want to hear the multiple complaints from other employees. 

'What has this world come to?'

~~~

Henry didn't understand the situation he was in. Sammy ran to him, told him that they needed to talk privately, and dragged him to his office. Sammy looked, embarrassed.

"Um, what's going on Sam?"

"Okay, I'm going to ignore that you said that, but this is really important."

Sammy tugged Henry down, making him sit on the floor with him.

"Okay, can you tell me what's so important?"

He took a deep breath.

"I'm not good with words but what I'm trying to say is that when I first met you two years ago, I've always felt something in my chest but I tried to avoid it and with that, I avoided you. Ever since I saw you crying in the closet, that feeling kept coming back and back again stronger than ever. Hell, when you came to my house and slept in my bed and I had that nightmare and you allowed me to sleep with you, I cuddled with you and it felt nice. But even Wally has noticed that I've been feeling like this and I'm scared that I won't be able to tell you this because the Army might take you away but what I'm trying to say is I love you and I keep denying it but I love you even if you don't love me… I'm sorry."

Sammy was crying at this point. Strangely, he wasn't making any noise, he was quiet. He was a silent cryer. He looked down at the floor as Henry stared at him, trying to process what he said. He processed every word, and just stared.

'This was it.'

Sammy thought.

'He thinks I'm stupid for liking him.'

All of a sudden, he felt knuckles run along his spine and make circles in his back. It felt good. He stayed like that for a minute or so until arms wrapped around him and pulled him into a surface. He looked up to see Henry smiling and hugging him. His hand wiped away Sammy's tears.

"I must confess Sammy, I kinda had feelings for you too. I was just better at hiding them."

Sammy blushed immensely. 

"But then why did you say that my chances on dating you were the same as you dating Susie?"

"Would it be smart to say that I would date you in a break room full of homophobic's?"

Henry chuckled as Sammy sighed, covering the blush with his hand. He felt like an idiot right now.

"Plus, I thought you were straight."

"Well, I still like women, but apparently I like certain men as well."

He leaned into Henry a bit more. The comfort feeling was present, and it felt nice like always. 

"So… Are we a couple now?"

Henry thought about it for a moment.

"Yeah."

"What happens if you go to the war or if I go to the war?"

Sammy started panicking slightly. They just became a thing but now there's the possibility of being separated. All of his thoughts melted as he felt Henry kiss his forehead.

"We'll make it work. If I, for example, went to the war, you can wait for me until I come back. I don't think letters would be a good idea since they might check them and what not."

"Yeah… Yeah! We'll make it work!"

They both chuckled, enjoying the comfort of each others company and renewed happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagine that the doors are shitty, so Wally is cleaning the band room and he hears most of what Sammy and Henry say and he's just fanboying on the inside. 
> 
> Also, you think I'm gonna end it there? Hell no, I didn't mention the Ink Machine for no reason, so expect some angst! *rubs hands together and smiles wickedly*


	8. Farewell and hello

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sammy says good bye to Henry. All hell breaks loose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING BLOOD AND MAYBE TRIGGERS IDK
> 
> Bare with me please.

The day has come. Everyone sat down and stared at the head of the room, where the people from the Army stood. Most of them were nervous, and by most of them, all young white males were nervous. Everyone stared in anticipation as the head person talked. Joey looked away from the whole ordeal. Obviously, he couldn't bare to watch what would happen.

After a long moment or so, they started to call off names. Roger, George, Darwin, Harrison. The names were being called as the men were grabbed and taken away. Some looked bold and ready for what's coming, while others were skittish and scared. One even screamed about how he has a family that he needed to say good bye to. It was all hard to watch. Friends being dragged, pulled, or walked away, not knowing whether they are going to survive or not. The last few names were called.

"Christopher Smith, Harold Tucker, Arin Green, Garold Nolan, Tod Harmin, and Henry Ozeil."

They grabbed the final soldiers. Before Henry was taken away, Sammy put a hand on his shoulder. The world seemed to stop for a minute as they stared intently in each others eyes.

"Good luck Bud."

Sammy winked at the end, smiling. Henry winked back.

"See you soon Sam."

And just like that, he was taken away, gone, never to be known whether he was dead or alive. The Army thanked them for their time and left. Everyone just sat there, taking it all in. Some people were crying, others just sat there staring in disbelief. It took them ten minutes to process it until Joey stood up and told them to get back to work. Slowly, they got up and walked away, including Sammy.

~~~

It's been about two hours since the incident. Sammy sat at his piano, just staring at it and thinking. Thinking of what could've been. The door opened but he didn't bother to look. Nothing really seemed to have mattered. The weight shifted next to him, someone was sitting next to him.

"Everything alright Sammy?"

It was Susie. He didn't respond, nor look up.

"Wally told me that you looked pretty bummed out, and I can see why."

She took her handkerchief out of her bra and wiped at Sammy's eyes. There were tear stains. He looked up at her slightly.

"Tell me daring, why are you crying?"

He took a minute to pause and think.

"… Henry."

Susie sighed and pat his back. She understood what he mean't.

"Were you guys close friends?"

Sammy chuckled a tad.

"You could say that."

They spent a minute in silence. Sammy still had tears streaming down his face, and from time to time he would whimper. Susie patted his back reassuringly, allowing him to let it all out.

"Hey Sammy, we really need to- oh…"

Susie looked up to see Norman staring at Sammy. He looked almost sympathetic. Susie decided to respond.

"Give him a minute or so."

Norman nodded and left, closing the door behind him. Sammy wiped his eyes and nodded.

"I'm okay now. Thank you."

Susie smiled and got up.

"If you need to talk about it, I'll be here."

And with that she left. Sammy was all alone.

~~~

Months passed by, things were starting to get more chaotic than they were. Joey announced to everyone that some arrangements were going to take place in the upper section of the studio. It confused some people but they rolled with it. Working spaces were being moved until an entire room was empty. The big change caused one of their animations to be late. That did some damage. Then Joey gave them recorders, almost like audio diaries. Some of the employees used it, some didn't. It was extremely strange and odd. Most off the time, they talked about how shitty and weird work can be. Not only that, but Joey said that he and some other people were going to build a machine in the newly vacant room. It was supposed to help the animators with a refill of ink and what not. That's all he really said. Employees were confused and weary.

The machine was bulky and much more complicated than it needed to be. By the time it was done being built, most of the people had a bad feeling in the pit of their stomach. Plus it didn't help the music department with work. It was noisy and loud as hell, especially when it was dispensing ink. Most of the time when it was dispensing, it wasn't a small amount of ink, it was a lot. A good two seconds of it on will give just the right amount. Any more than that will stain your clothes or make another ink puddle on the floor.

The cleaning staff was in big need. People like Wally were soon really appreciated for cleaning up the grim and putting in the work. Some co-workers noticed that, besides the fact that Wally would come to work with bruises, bandages, and scars, he started to get more quiet and frustrated. He would try to keep his optimistic demeanor but eventually it would subside into depression and irritation. One of the co-workers even found one of his drawings that he dropped.

It was disturbing and rather concerning. They showed it to Joey.

The attitude change also sorta happened with the cleaning staff as well. They would groan when they would have to clean something up but when it came to the machine, they didn't blame the people that made the mess unless they did it purposely.

The machine also had another problem. It would leak. It wouldn't leak on the main level, it would leak the music department. The many complaints that went to Joey caused him to put a lever in Sammy's Office that would drain the ink temporarily. Sammy wasn't happy with this. People would cowardly walk in his Office to turn it off. That event was what caused Sammy to use one of the recorders, kind of hoping Joey would hear it.

Needless to say, things were hell, animations weren't getting done on time, money is running low, the employees were getting cranky, and people are getting concerned about Wally's family life and the establishment.

~~~

Sammy walked towards Joey's Office. Apparently Joey called him in for an important meeting of some sort. A one on one meeting. Sammy couldn't put his finger on it but something about Joey was… off.

When he opened the door, he was greeted to nothing. Sammy walked in, closing he door behind him.

"Joey?"

This didn't settle right. Everything was wrong. He had to get out.

Right when he was about to walk out of the Office, he felt something roughly grab him and shove something on his face, covering his nose and mouth. He was screaming and squirming. He saw that it was a white rag.

'Chloroform.'

His brain screamed.

'Chloroform!"

'CHLOROFORM!"

He still tried to kick whoever was keeping him down. He tried moving his arms. Sammy couldn't do it.

After two minutes of struggling, the drug took affect. Sammy became sleepy and tired. He tried to fight it off, but he couldn't, soon falling into a deep slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know chloroform would take you a good minute to make you pass out? I just found that out. 
> 
> Anywho, I might make the next chapter extra fluff from chapter 5, cause why not. Well I hope that you enjoyed! 
> 
> Inky ink.


	9. Cat?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry's pov of chapter 5. (From the beginning)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello! This is a small intermission! This is a small fluffy lil fanfic so that you guys can prepare a tad for the next chapter. Heheheh. Hope you enjoy it! (CoughCoughReadTheEndNotesForASurpriseCoughCough)

Henry fell back asleep after Sammy woke him up. It was a strange request to get. Allowing Sammy in the same bed as him, but he looked scarred from whatever he saw. He allowed it. Just in case, to make him feel more comfortable, Henry had his back faced to him so it didn't look concerning in some way.

~~~

The feeling of warmth spread through out Henry as he woke up. It seemed like the feeling was grabbing onto him. It felt pleasant. As his vision cleared up, he looked to see what the warmth was. It was Sammy.

Sammy had his head in the crook of Henry's neck and he was holding him while Henry held onto him as well. He blushed. This had to be accidental. This had to have happened while they were asleep. Sammy couldn't have done this on purpose… right?

As if his question was being answered, Henry felt Sammy snuggle up against him and… was he _purring_? Henry stared down at him and proved himself right. Sammy's adam's apple was slightly vibrating. He chuckled a tad. It reminded him of an extremely comfortable cat. Sammy was a cat!

Henry took a minute to appreciate this moment. This moment that he may never have again. Smiling, he hugged Sammy a tad bit tighter, closed his eyes, and went back to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dazed and cold, he woke from his slumber  
> Screaming and crying, he roared like thunder,  
> The man with the book, smiled wickedly  
> The sheep tied up, swallowed thickly,  
> He chanted and yelled certain words of gray  
> Putting the sheep in a curse of dismay,  
> Screaming was all the sheep could do,  
> as his mind and soul were pulled through,  
> The man chuckled, ready for the 'new' day  
> As the poor wooly sheep, faded away,  
> But that wasn't over for the man of madness  
> He was going to give the sheep a sense of sadness,  
> The sheep who regretted longing his stay  
> Hoped the Shepard dog would find him through pray,  
> Yet even that didn't do any good  
> For the inky sheep that had once stood.


	10. Searcher for that shiiiiiiiiiiiiiįiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think the poem from the last chapter will give you a good summary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus, it's been awhile since I wrote anything related to the fic. I've been in the Camp Camp fandom recently and Batim amino scares the shit out of me. If you don't know why, feel free to ask. Anywho, enjoy!

It was dark. Extremely dark. Eerily dark. The cold wooden floor woke Sammy from his drugged sleep. He tried to move and look around, but he was tied up and it was dark. The previous events that happened before he woke up were a blur. He remembered, going into Joey's Office and then… oh right. He was chloroformed. Great.

The sound of the machine wavered in Sammy's head. He listened to it so much that even when it wasn't clanking and whirring, he can still hear it. The 'silence' gripped at him and shook him to a panic. Nobody was here. He doesn't know where he's at. He's in danger for all he knew. Sammy tried squinting his eyes to make out any outline. To his luck, he could slightly see a door and wooden planks, maybe even some coffins but that's it. He didn't even understand why there were coffins, and he doesn't want to know if they were used… _or if they were going to be used._

With that thought, Sammy started struggling against the ropes and find a way out of what could possibly be his doom. The thought of dying scared the shit out of him. He didn't want to die from being weak. He continued to struggle and 'look' around for something sharp. Nothing appeared in his vision. The more he struggled, the more the rope rubbed into his irritated skin. It was definitely going to leave marks.

As time passed by, the feeling of determination faded into depression and fear. He was about to give up until he heard the door open. Light flooded the room, making Sammy squint his eyes. He was trying to adjust to the sudden brightness and identify who walked in. The sound of clanking and footsteps could be heard. Sammy struggled harder against the ropes.

"You're not going to get out of that easily."

It was Joey. Joey was talking. The man who possibly chloroformed him, was talking. Despite what he said, Sammy continued to struggle.

"You're only going to make the process harder on yourself."

Blinking a few times, Sammy finally saw what Joey was doing and where he was. Sammy found himself sitting in the middle of a pentagram that was drawn with ink. Joey was putting items down in certain corners. The items consisted of an inkwell, white lily's, a bendy doll, possibly a real human skull, and a music box. Sammy was more than confused. He then saw two open pipes that are connected to something above the room.

Joey started lighting candles and lowering the lights, making it dim. He picked up a book and started flipping a few pages before landing on one. He read over it and smiled. Sammy was struggling again. He wanted to run and scream and cry until he felt safe. Man, was he _weak_.

"Still struggling sheep?"

"Wait what-"

Sammy was caught off guard with the nickname for a second. It was a strange, yet fitting nickname and he hated it. Or at least hated it when it is used in this instance.

"Just stay still and things won't fuck up."

Just like that, Sammy obeyed. Maybe he could get out of this alive and run far away from this establishment, and maybe even live a nice life with Henry if he comes out of the war alive. So Sammy sat there, fearing and hoping for his life. Joey looked from the book and started giggling.

"Aren't you a weak little thing. You're crying and shaking, and for what?"

Sammy started feeling the multiple trembles and tears flow through out his body and face.

"You really aren't a man. You're just some lone hermit who's too afraid to do anything except play his music. What a pathetic being you are, little sheep."

Joey looked down to his book again. Sammy sat there, baffled. Joey was always a kind person that had zero tolerance for bad people. What the hell did Sammy do to him to make him say this? Did he even do anything wrong to him?

Joey looked up from his book and sighed in satisfaction.

"Alrighty, let's get this over with."

Joey started chanting words of latin or he was just babbling. The lights of the candles started flashing. The objects on the floor started shaking, or was that just the ground in general. Sammy could feel something in his gut build up. It was similar to an emotion except it wasn't. He started screaming and vomiting an unknown substance. It was messy. Joey would chant words of gray while Sammy would vomit and scream and cry. The unknown substance was leaking from Sammy's eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and from any other orifice on his body. His body wracked in a fading but hammering pain as the liquid was being sputtered out. He looked like a mess.

The chanting still continued and the ground still shook. The lights copied the patterns of Sammy's pain. Fading slightly for a second then hits hard the next. The liquid flowed endlessly from everywhere. It wasn't helping the situation. His soul felt like it was being ripped from his very body as consciousness blurred in and out. Joey's chants became muffled as his ears were being filled with the liquid.

Then everything stopped. It was quiet. His eyes were closed yet he saw Joey closing his book, walking over to a somewhat large container of some sort, and threw it into one of the pipes. Sammy went with it. Not his body, but his point of view. He was squished and squeezed and stretched until he was numb and felt nothing but ooze and struggle, if that's what you can describe _that_ feeling.

For a good minute, it was like that. His senses started coming back. He could hear whirring noises, he could kinda see better, his taste was bitter, and that was about it. It was hard to feel and he couldn't smell. He couldn't breathe. He didn't need to breathe.

Sammy was falling into another pipe and landed on the ground. He realized that he was in the semi-large container and that he came back to the hell he once was in. Joey picked him up and examined him. He started smiling in satisfaction.

"If you're Sammy, do something."

Confused, he started waving his hands. That's when he saw it or felt it. He only has three fingers on each hand, two of which are larger and look similar to tuning forks. Sammy, in a dazed panic, stared at Joey and started shaking. He tried talking but it came out as slurs and moans. Joey smiled and held the container close, as if hugging it in some sense. Sammy screamed.

_Is this what Henry warned him about? Was this the thing he saw on Joey's desk? Why didn't he leave after being warned?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We will not be seeing fluff for the longest time I swear to god. Prepare yourselves. Imma try to wrap this series up on a fluff note. Kick my ass.jpg


	11. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sammy escapes from his container and finds Wally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Considering that chapter 3 got added in after I made this fanfic, Imma immediately say that, yes I'm going to incorporate elements from chap 3 into this story, like in this chapter. Also, I don't know if I mentioned, but my version of Wally is mixed (black and white), so yeah. Just gonna put that out there. Also, Sammy is the older version of the searcher (the one before chapter 3), just another heads up. Anywho, its past 12am, hope you like his chapter.

Isolation is one word to describe the loneliness Sammy felt. It's been awhile since Joey turned him into a monster. He still roams the container that he was put in. It is decently sized for his height, which isn't even that big. For what seemed like days, Sammy would scream gurgles and nonsense for someone, anyone, to hear. Alas, no one heard him. He is stuck under the studio for what seemed like weeks, months, maybe even years. Joey would come down from time to time and sometimes he'd talk to Sammy. Sammy wished that he could ask Joey why he did that to him. Why he transformed him into this inky monster. Joey wouldn't understand what Sammy would say, and would leave after a good few minutes.

There were times when Sammy thought that nothing mattered at all. In those moments, he'd just 'sit' there and look at nothing as he slips into a realm of imagination. It is his form of dreaming since he couldn't sleep, or he wasn't trying hard enough to sleep. He'd think about a life where he left the studio and applied himself for a better job, like a pianist for a bar or something. He'd still have his moderate apartment that had surprisingly cheap rent. One of his favorite 'dreams' was him waking up to the smell of eggs and cheese. He'd look around to find Henry cooking up a one-eyed Sam. Henry would notice him and smile that sweet smile he'd have. Henry would move the pan to the side and walk over to Sammy, who was already sitting on the bed. Henry would rub deep, soothing circles in Sammy's back, and Sammy would 'purr' at the comfort. Those were the best dreams, but they never lasted.

It took awhile for Sammy to figure out an escape but he managed to leave. The container is straining on him, straining in a way that kept him stable. When he got out, he nearly clumped to the floor as he moved. It seems like gravity really kicked in now. It is tiring at first but Sammy got the hang of it. He looked around to find another escape other than the door. The vent is his only option. Quickly, he seeped into it and crawled around. Sadly, crawling in the vent made a lot of noise. He groaned as he crawled.

Eventually he found his way to the music department, more specifically, his office. He seeped right through the vent and looked around. It is untouched since last time he was there, besides the few sheets of paper that probably was taken by Norman. Sammy couldn't blame him in all honesty.

Sammy began wandering around, looking at the multiple halls that stretched from corridor to corridor. From time to time, he'd see an employee. Some he'd recognize, some he didn't. They all look extremely frustrated and exhausted. They look older in some sense.

He found himself stumbling in the toy room he used to avoid at all costs. He would avoid it because all the dolls in there seemed to always be staring. Maybe not at him, but at something. As Sammy crept closer, he heard the frustrated grumbles of Shawn Flynn. His Irish accent easily separated him from anyone else in the building. He sat there hunched over his desk, painting a smile on a bendy doll. His brown hair was matted and greasy but that wasn't a rare occurrence. His overalls are splattered in paint, so is his nice shirt. His hands are shaking immensely, probably from the coffee. Sammy has to admit that he feels somewhat bad for the man. From what he heard, his rent is absolutely ludacris and with the demanding hours of this job, he hasn't been able to find a decent house or apartment yet. It's sad to think about.

Sammy moved along back into the hallways. He didn't know where he was going, he just went there.

"Where the hell is all this ink comin from?"

Sammy turns his head around to see Wally Franks staring at the ink trail that slid into the toy room and back out. Sammy has to hide, and fast. He couldn't let the young janitor see him.

As if jinxing himself, he hears Wally let out a sharp gasp. He turns his head to see Wally staring at him with those unforgettable wide, fearful eyes. Those eyes were seen on Wally whenever Sammy was around and even in this damned ink form, he still has them.

Hesitantly, Wally started walking towards the ink creature, dragging his mop along the way. Sammy panicked. He tried running or moving in anyway but he just stuck to the floor, shaking. Wally bent down and stared at the small yet bulky creature. He senses the fear radiating off of it.

"C-c-calm d-down little one. I-I-I-I won't hurt ya."

Wally slowly and carefully picked up the mess of a creature in his hands. It still trembled. He didn't know what to do but pet it in an attempt to comfort it.

"T-There there. You're safe. I-I won't hurt ya. I'm here to help ya, inky blob."

~~~

It's been a good three months since Sammy went missing. There was already an alert printed everywhere for people to look at. When Wally found out that Sammy had gone missing, he didn't know what to feel. Sammy was always reminding him of ma in some sense but he softened. Wally felt confused, and maybe even worried. Why would he go missing? There were times when Wally swore he heard Sammy mumbling about leaving the studio, but he'd never think that he mean't leaving everything behind without a trace. Something was going on and Wally can feel it in his gut.

A lot has happened within those months. New employees to be more specific. Apparently Joey wasn't satisfied with Alice's voice actress, Susie Campbell, and decided to hire some one else. Allison Pendle has taken Susie's place, and damn was Susie mad about it. Everyone within the building can tell that Susie wants Allison out. Susie hasn't been the same since.

After a day or two of Sammy being gone, Thomas Connor was the next 'employee.' Technically, he has been hanging around the establishment for sometime but now he's officially an employee. He is a repairman for the pipes and other machinery. Sometimes he'd work with Wally but most of the time, he'd do it on his own. Wally liked Thomas's company, despite Thomas being a tad racist to him. Wally would have to remind himself to take a deep breath and move on. Eventually he'll crack but now is not the time. Thomas seemed to have lightened up a bit and started using his emotional energy on Joey, or more so complaining about Joey's pipes. They'd bond over that and say the usual 'I'm outta here' or 'I swear I'm not gonna work for this man.'

Besides new employees, things only turned for the worst. Animations were being rushed, money is running thin, and nobody is trusting Joey. They are all skeptical and frustrated. It hurt Wally to know that this place he'd love to work at is now exhausting and almost as bad as his home life, minus the physical pain part. Wally has no body to turn too. Susie isn't motherly anymore, and spends her time attempting to get Alice's role back. Norman, although friendly to the young lad, is stressing over songs and sheet paper. Henry is still in the war and hell if anyone knows if he's alive. Sammy is missing and Joey is not to be trusted. Thomas, despite being nice company, is still annoyed by Wally's presence at times. Everyone else, he barely knew or heard vaguely of. Wally is all alone and still clinging onto the smallest amount of hope he has left.

Today is a tiring day. The machine is whirring and buzzing, people are running, it was all a mess. Wally has already emptied out the trash bins and started mopping the floors. His shift was about to be over. He wasn't excited to leave but at the same time he was. He has no home, just shelter.

As he mopped the few little ink droplets, he noticed the sudden trail of ink. It was dragged all over the halls but it specifically went into the toy room and back out. He followed the trail with his eyes and looked at the one who was making the mess. A small yet bulky ink creature is staring back at him. Wally gasped. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know if this thing will hurt him, yet he took a risk. He walks towards the creature and then stops. The inkling is trembling badly.

"C-c-calm d-down little one. I-I-I-I won't hurt ya."

Bending over, the janitor picked up the small, fragile creature in his hands. It practically became a cute, trembling mess. Wally started petting it.

"T-There there. You're safe. I-I won't hurt ya. I'm here to help ya, inky blob."

It looked up at Wally now. Wally didn't understand what it was trying to do. Was this all a trap? Was Wally hallucinating? Who knew. He awkwardly stood there with the ink blob. Finally, he broke the tension.

"I-I leave in a few minutes to get back home."

He grimaced at the word.

"Do you want to come with me?"

The inky creature nodded it's head furiously. Wally giggled in return and put the creature in his chest pocket.

"Alrighty then, but you're 'goin have to stay hidden for a bit."

It obeyed.

As the remainder of Wally's work time ended, he took note on how Joey was walking the hallways more frequently during those last few minutes. It was strange since Joey rarely got out of his Office, and if he did, he would've needed that wheel chair. It was hard to look at him limping around. Wally, ready to go to his house, put his mop away and walked out of the door. Once he was out and walking, he felt the ink creature lift its head and look around. Wally giggled as he looked down.

"Not yet. Ya have to wait 'til I get to my room."

The creature hid away again, becoming slightly impatient.

~~~

Wally wiped his feet on the door mat and looked at his door. He doesn't want to go in there but he has to. Who knows? Maybe today will be his lucky day. He looks down at his chest pocket where the creature resides.

"No matter what, don't crawl out."

Wally opens the door and walks in. The smell of alcohol hits his nostrils the moment he took one step inside. Maybe today isn't his lucky day. Slowly, he closes the door and quietly tip toes to his room. As he is about to walk the stairs, a voice catches his attention.

"And where the hell do ya think you're 'goin?"

Wide eyes stare at the lady that stood before him. Her body resembled an hour glass but with some belly sticking out. She has long hair the color of wood. Her skin was almost a sickly yet beautiful shade of white. She wore a bland blue dress. A cigarette stuck out of her mouth. Her eyes are a dried out green. She doesn't look happy. This is ma.

"Up to my room. I supposed that'd you w-wouldn't want me around ya."

Despite Wally staying composed and calm, you could see how his iris's trembled. He wanted to leave so badly, so fucking badly. Ma motioned him to come closer, and he obeyed. She grabbed onto his wrist, gripping it tightly. His body started shaking as his ma took her cigarette out of her mouth and moved it closer to Wally. He winced, pulling away but she tugged him forward. The cigarette was placed harshly on the back of his neck. The heat that was within it singed away those few neck hairs and burrowed itself into his flesh. Wally whimpered, waiting for her to stop mushing the ashes deeper within his skin. Finally she took it out and threw it to the ground, stomping on it just in case there was anymore fire left within it. She turned toward the trembling boy and cupped his cheeks with her hands. She smiled at him with that loving expression, the one Wally would always feel powerless against.

"You know ya ma loves ya, right Wally?"

Before Wally could even get an answer out, her hands gripped harder at his jaw. He clenched his teeth in pain.

"Right, Wally?"

"Y-y-yes ma."

She smiles even more and let's go of him. Wally rubs his hurt cheeks.

"That's right Wally. Ya can go to your room now."

He nodded and ran up the stairs to his room, shutting the door softly. Silence is the only thing around him. Well, besides the tv playing downstairs but that was enough to ease him.

Letting go of a sigh, Wally walked over to his trash bin, grabbed some papers, and laid them out on the floor. As gently as he could, he scooped the ink creature into his hand and placed it on the paper. The ink creature looked around, taking in the details of his room.

The walls are a bland, pastel yellow. There is a small bed in the corner and a poor excuse of a desk next to it. There are tons of papers scattered around that area. Some has words on them, others have drawings. There is a single unclean window over his bed and a closet on the far end. That is about it.

Wally looked at the ink creature with a sad and almost puzzled look. The ink creature stared back, making a gurgled groan. He chuckled a tad and poked the creature with a pencil. It emitted an annoyed sound. Wally dropped the pencil on the paper and lied down on his belly.

"So uhh… do ya have a name?"

~~~

'This is my chance. This is my one damn chance!'

Sammy attempted to pick up the pencil for a solid six seconds until he realized that he is literally made out of ink. He chucked the pencil away and carefully inscribed his name in the paper. It looks sloppy, especially since he quickly wrote it down with his tuning fork-like hand, but it is still legible.

  
Wally covered his mouth as he stared at the name with wide eyes. Tears seem to have formed since he blinked his eyes rapidly, letting them fall.

"S-S-Sammy Lawrence?"

Sammy nodded. Wally started to sob into his hands. He couldn't believe that this, somewhat cute yet horrific, creature is Sammy. For five minutes, the sobbing finally came to an end. Wally wiped the rest of his tears away and stared at Inky Sammy.

"I-If you really are Sammy, what department did ya work in?"

Sammy looked at him dully and quickly wrote the answer.

  
The boy stared at the answer with a wavering smile.

"I guess ya really are him."

Sammy nodded.

'Who else would I be kid.'

Wally lazily smiled at him and sat up, hiding half his face in his knees.

"You've been gone for three months. We are all confused and worried. Nobody knew where ya went and ya abandoned your apartment and everything. Heheh, and now you're this small inky creature."

Wally sniffed.

"Henry visited a month ago."

Sammy perked up at the sound of his lovers name.

'Henry?'

"Surprisingly he was able to visit early because of 'somethin."

Wally scratched the back of his neck but winced when he felt pain. He put his hand down and glumly looked at Sammy.

"Ya can already tell that even after a few months, he ain't the same. Well, most of him is still there but… the sudden alertness he had, the way he talked, and dear god the time he got triggered. The war ain't something he's gonna get past, even after it ends. He's seen things Sammy, and I'd be damned if I were to stick my head out there."

Sammy slumped against the paper, taking in what Wally has said. He doesn't know how to feel.

"I felt bad for being the one to tell him that you were missin. The poor man's face dropped. He looked almost shaken, maybe even scared. He would've loved to see ya but,"

Wally looked to the side.

"I don't know how he'll feel if he saw ya like this. I can only hope that'd he'd be relieved but sad. I don't know."

They sat there listening to nothing but the muffled tv from downstairs. Sammy has thoughts coursing in and out of his mind. He is confused, worried, sad, and yet, frustrated. He wanted to see Henry. If it wasn't for Joey, he could've seen Henry!… Yet, how would he react to him now. Wally said he changed, and not in a good way. Plus, Henry was scared. Why was he scared? Why was he- oh. The Ink Machine. He probably got the idea that Sammy turned into one of those things and now-

"Say."

Wally pulled Sammy out of his thoughts.

"Who made ya like this?"

Sammy wasn't sure if he should tell Wally or not. No, he had to. He had to tell someone. Hesitantly, he wrote the name down.

  
The boy looked at the paper a tad bit closer and sighed.

"I can't say I'm surprised yet this is a bit 'alarmin."

'Wait. YOU'RE NOT SURPRISED! JOEY FUCKED ME UP!'

Sammy growled at him. Wally sighed.

"I should be surprised but, when I built that machine with Mr. Connor and the other folks, we noticed a few things that seemed 'concernin. Some structures within that machine were a bit, were a bit… I don't know how to explain it… Peculiar. Odd. 'Disturbin. I think that those structures turned ya into this, as strange and stupid as it sounds."

Sammy could believe him. That machine was too bulky for only one purpose. Suddenly, Wally started giggling.

"Ya know what's funny?"

Sammy shook his head.

"I used to be scared shitless out of ya! Ya reminded me of ma. Beautiful, 'intimidatin, and irritated. I wanted to be around ya and feel okay but every time I got near ya, I was just a coward!"

Wally sobbed hysterically. He laughed and cried, every now and then he exclaimed that he was 'nothin but a coward.' Sammy attempted to comfort the kid by rubbing his his sock, staining it with ink. A few seconds later, they could hear muffled shouting from downstairs.

"SHUT THE HELL UP BOY!"

Quickly, Wally wiped away his tears and snot from his face. He whimpered. Sammy could only look up at him and feel some sort of pang. A pang of what? Guilt? Shame? Sympathy? It was something Sammy wasn't sure of, but it hurt.

'Did I really remind him of his poor excuse of a mom?'

The boy picked up Sammy and transferred him to his desk. Sammy looked at the papers around him. Some of them had drawings and those drawings ranged from Bendy and his friends, to vent art. Wally hastily stacked those drawings onto each other and put it to the side.

"I umm, I think you'd better look away cause I'm gonna get dressed into my sleep wear."

Sammy didn't need another heads up since he quickly turned away from the boy. He even hunched to show that he wasn't looking at him. Wally smiled and quickly got changed into some shorts and a short sleeved, button up shirt. It has different colored polka dots on them.

"You can look now if ya want."

Sammy slowly turned over and took a glance at his co-worker. He continuously produced a sloppy wheezing sound. If he had a mouth, he would've been laughing his ass off, but this is all he could do. Wally looked ridiculous to him. He was so used to seeing him in a long or short sleeved shirt with an apron on and rubber boots, even rubber gloves. This outfit just looked funny on the poor kid.

"What's that noise for?"

Sammy wiped away a nonexistent tear and settled himself. Wally squinted his eyes.

"Was that, 'laughin?"

'No, definitely not laughing kid.'

Sammy tried to not get himself back into a laughing fit. Wally looked puzzled, yet glared at the inky blob.

"If it was laughing, I swear to god!"

He scowled at Sammy but soon took a deep breath. He walked towards his bed and lied down, snuggling up in the blankets.

"Joey said that I needed to come to work early tomorrow. 'Somethin about that damn machine. Might as well take ya with me. As stupid as that sounds, I can't hold onto ya. I don't know how to fix ya, and if Joey did that to ya and found out that I took ya or even SAW ya,"

Wally shuddered.

"Who knows what he'll _do to me_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hohohohohohohohohohohohohohohohohohohohohohohoho poor poor boyyo.


	12. This is where shit starts to fuck up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see a tad bit more of Wally's life and HOLY SHIrt a year passes.. and then..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI we have two to three more chapters to go *kazoo noises*
> 
> Also I'm adding this as a series because I want to write more about Wally and Searcher! Sammy and their experiences, so expect that coming out some time. Now you may ask why I'm adding this fic in the series as well. This is so that it kinda links back tot he original source (cause there will be moments where I mention Sammy and Henry's relationship and other info relating to this story in those fics). Any who, onto the chapter!

The night time is bad, really bad. Sammy can't sleep and would drift off into his imagination, except he doesn't have happy thoughts. He still feels that damn feeling. That guilt, that shame, that regret. He decides that he is going to stay 'awake' and look at his surroundings.

Everything seems normal for the first two hours of the night. There is chattering and yelling downstairs from his drunken mother, which seems to be a normal occurrence. By the fifth hour, Wally wakes up in a cold sweat and is gasping. After a few minutes, he looks over at Sammy and smiles slightly.

"It's… It's just a nightmare."

The rest of the night is hell, mainly for Wally. He can't sleep, he can't stop moving around in bed, and he won't stop groaning. Sammy would look over at him from time to time and notice the distress he is in. At one point, Wally caught Sammy looking at him and only said two words.

"Growth spurt."

Sammy had never experienced any painful growth spurts within his life but from the experience Wally is going through and the stories his friends told him before, they seem like hell.

It finally took Wally two hours for him to fall asleep. He actually looks calm. Despite having a crappy job, negative co-workers, the intimidation of Joey, and his abusive mom, he looks peaceful. It is the first time Sammy has ever seen Wally like that. He looks like a child, despite being eighteen. It hurt Sammy even more. His thirty nine year old ass is cracking down on this teenager that just wants others to see the good in life.

Man… Sammy was a real asshole.

~~~

Morning came by slowly. It is still somewhat dark yet Wally is making himself some breakfast, being careful not to wake up ma. Sammy hung out of his shirt pocket. Wally made sure to put paper in his pocket so that the ink wouldn't stain his clothes too badly. The ink already did a number on his other shirt.

Slowly, he pours some sugar over his popcorn and milk. Wally usually refers to this dish as the 'delightfully sweet struggle food.' It is better than some of the other 'struggle' foods he tried before but it is still something that brings him a certain realization. A realization that not everything is like Hollywood, where you can stroll around, eat what you want, and have a good life. There are going to be days where people will hit a point where they can barely afford or do anything. They'll think that they're nothing but really they're just at a low point in their lives. Wally has seen it occur to his ma multiple times, even as a child, but eventually she gets back up and prays that a new day will come to her.

Wally hastily eats his struggle cereal and quietly walks out of the house, locking the door behind him. Sammy hides himself within his pocket and attempts to get comfortable on the paper. As Wally walked to work, he talks to himself, or rather to Sammy.

"You know, I was thinkin' last night. Maybe I can allow you to stay with me overnight and I'll bring ya back to the studio in the day."

He sighs.

"Joey usually stays in the buildin' after hours, and honestly I don't want to know why."

The sounds of cars riding by is the only sound that is heard for awhile. Wally clears his throat and lets out a shaky laugh.

"That man has been up to somethin' and everyone knows it. I wish everythin' was like before when the army didn't show up and Susie still had her role as Alice and when you were still in your body. Everythin' changed. Life is already hard, why does it need to be harder now."

Sammy heard a small sniffle come from the boy. Wally wipes at his eyes and snorts his snot back up his nostrils.

"I shouldn't be gettin' emoti-OUCH!

Wally haunches downward in pain, rubbing at the back of his head. There is a slimy substance that is stuck into his hair, as well as little sharp pieces.

Egg.

A group of laughter rung out behind him.

"Where are you going skunk."

The laugher dies down slowly as Wally furiously wipes the egg off of him. Foot steps approach him but before they got too close, Wally ran for it.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going!"

Multiple footsteps chase after the young lad. Luckily, Wally is close to the studio. Every footstep he made drew more energy into him. The determination he has is strong. He wants to get into the studio. He needs to. With the last of his energy, he barges into the building and quickly locks the door behind him. The other men chasing him make a stop and growl to themselves.

"Don't think you can avoid us forever half breed. You'll eventually run into us, and we'll tear your mixed skin to shreds."

They run off and fade into the distance. Wally sighs, putting a hand to his heart.

"Damnit."

Sammy looks up at him, cocking a nonexistent eyebrow. Wally seems to have notice the ink creature look at him.

"They're just some stupid gang or whateva.' A real pain in the ass I have to deal with but they don't do much."

Sammy frowned. This has been a nuisance on Wally as well. He regains his breath and continues onward. There is already a few co-workers stationed at there desks. It is funny to see some of them with earmuffs on since the machine is still whirring. Wally has grown accustomed to the racket.

Once Wally got to his closet, he took Sammy out of his pocket and put him down.

"By 9pm, come back here, okay Sammy?"

He nods his head, and goes through another vent. The boy stares at the vent with contemplation.

"WALLY!"

Rough hands grab him by the shoulders and give him harsh pats. He tenses up at the gesture and at the hearty laughter behind him. It is Joey Drew.

"My dear boy, you're right on time! We have a problem with the Ink Machine."

Wally shook his head out of his shock and put it aside. Quickly, he gave his boss a toothy grin.

"Well what seems to be the problem Mr. Drew?"

Joey clears his throat and takes out a blue print from his pocket. He unravels it and points to a peculiar part of the machine.

"This system has been acting up. I was wondering if you and Mr. Connor could take a look at it."

Wally nods.

"I'll get a head start."

Joey smiles.

"Good."

~~~

The come and go system actually worked quite well. Wally would bring Sammy with him to work, drop him off, do his job, find Sammy again at the end of his shift, and go back to his house. It is pleasant. It is almost like taking care of a toddler but this is an ink carnation of a co-worker. The working hours are long and stressful. Ink would've covered the damn place if it wasn't for him and the other janitors. Ink is nothing but a pest to them now. They'll start to envision the substance as if it were a rat, or a cockroach.

A year went by, and so did employees. Some of them were new and immediately left, or they were old timers that saw everything the studio has to offer. It is rather peculiar that either they would suddenly walk out, or Joey would fire them.

A lot of the same stuff has been going on. Susie became unreasonable and hates Allison with a passion, as if it is a hobby. Poor Grant has been sweating over the budget and is constantly reminding Joey about their current state. In a nut shell, it isn't looking good. Shawn has been passing out lately. He's dependent on coffee, which not only keeps him awake for an amount of time, but makes his hands and feet shake from the sudden kick of energy. It isn't good for him. Norman has been stressing over the music but got the hang of it in some sense. Although having good music to present, some of the musicians wouldn't listen to him due to his skin color. Thomas has been more than angry at Joey. Thankfully, he has grown accustomed to Wally and rather enjoys his company and presence yet he can't help but hate Joey for giving him so much work to do on the pipes, the elevators, and the machine. Mainly the peculiar part of the machine. Henry has sent a letter reassuring the staff that he's alive. Though, that letter also told them about the other employees who he knew died so far. There is too many names. So many names. No one is sure if Henry will get out of there in one piece, physically speaking.

Sammy carefully wanders the halls. His ink trails luckily became more like water. They would seep away or evaporate over time. The daily check up on employees are over for the day. He is concerned over some off them, rarely does he try to help. It would be too risky. He'll just have to watch his friends suffer from a distance. He creeps along a vent and tries thinking of the past events of his life or how it all got him to where he is. Joey told him to come to his office, he got chloroformed, he was tied to a pillar above a pentagram, and then he got turned into this inky creature. This inky, dark abyss of a body. Damn does he hate it.

He starts thinking about Wally. The kid has been nothing but nice to him, rarely did they have an argument. Sammy remembers a moment where Wally told him that he was planning on helping his mother become stable but he realized it wasn't worth it. It hurt him to leave his mother and move into a low rent apartment, but he needed to do it. Thankfully, he, not only doesn't have to deal with his alcoholic mother, but he doesn't deal with that scum gang anymore since he takes a different direction to work now. The kid has changed quickly over a year. His personality still contains optimism, naiveness, and the occasional anger, but his physical features drastically changed, especially his height. He was around 5'4 back then, but now he's 5'9. His freckles seem to have spread a tad bit on his nose and increase around his checks. The stray strand of hair on his head somehow decreased in size. His voice deepened a tad bit more, but not too much. The kid basically became a man within a short amount of time.

As Sammy crawls through the vents, he over hears a conversation below him. Coincidentally, it is Wally and Thomas talking with each other.

"I just don't get this darn machine Wally. It's always this part of it too. Like, what the hell is he using it for. This surely couldn't produce ink in any way."

Sammy settles himself and listens intently.

"I fear it's somethin' worse."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, but how long couldn't we trust Joey for? One, two years? Joey has been up to somethin' since the army came, maybe even before that. This machine already has some odd mechanics about it, but how do they work?"

There is a long pause of silence.

"Hmm… I guess we can only hope that this machine doesn't kill us all, isn't that right!"

Thomas let's out a chuckle. Wally awkwardly laughs as well and gulps down his nervousness.

"Hopefully."

Another wave of silence hits the two of them. They didn't talk for some time and it's making Sammy bored. He continues crawling through the vent until he finds an exit. The room looks empty. Sammy seeps through the vent's entrance and looks around. Something felt off. It didn't sit well with Sammy. He wants to go back in the vent and hide but he has to go to Wally's storage closet soon. As quiet as he can, he lurks around the room, looking around anxiously. Nothing seems to be out of place. His nerves calm themselves and he continues onward.

Instantly, he hears a gasp and suddenly he is being lifted off the floor. His captor holds onto him tightly. Sammy lets out a loud, ear piercing shriek. His captor puts a hand over his mouth.

"Shut the hell up Sammy."

Joey.

Sammy did everything in his power to get the hell away from him. He tries slipping underneath his arm, but that didn't work. He tries clawing at him, but that didn't work. He tries biting him, but that didn't work. Sammy struggles to get away as Joey took him down to the room full of coffins. It still has that same pentagram in the middle of the pillar, except it looks more worn out as if it was used frequently.

Joey hastily shoves Sammy in a container and closes it. Sammy bangs, screeches, claws, does anything to get someone to hear him. Joey wipes the sweat from his forehead and looks over to him.

"You bitch."

He wheezes out.

"You were gone for a whole year. Where the fuck were you?"

Sammy continues to screech incoherent gurgles. Joey stares at him angrily. As he is about to move closer to Sammy, something, or someone knocks him to the ground. Sammy stops screaming and looks at who did it.

All he saw is Wally standing over Joey, ready to fight. Wally looks at Joey, who is currently trying to get back to his feet.

"So this is what you've been doin' the entire time Joey?!"

Joey wobbles on his bad leg, wiping the blood from his mouth. He looks up at Wally with a fierce glare. Wally continues.

"You'd take workers and turn em' to ink creatures. Why would you do that?!"

Sammy stares in shock at the scene in front of him. He wants to do something, _anything_ , but he's can't. Joey wobbly gets up and smiles slightly at Wally, furrowing his eyebrows as well.

"Just making things possible Wally."

"The hell is that supp-"

Suddenly Wally is punched in the face. Not even a second later, Joey uppercuts him in the jaw. He stumbles backwards, clutching his cheek. He attempts to charge at Joey but he gives the Janitor another hard blow to the head. He stumbles again and Joey just smiles.

"Even with a bad leg, I can still beat the shit out of you."

As Wally tries to make out his surroundings, Joey hobbles over to him and pins him to a wall. He quickly takes out a rag of chloroform from his chest pocket and holds it against Wally's bloody nose. He panics and tries to get off the wall. The boy heaves his chest forwards, moving his body upright, but as he did, Joey pushes him back to the wall. Joey pushed him back so harshly that his head bangs against the wall, making him pass out. The last thing Wally see's before he drifts into nothingness is Joey smiling like a maniac and Sammy banging on the container, _screaming_.

~~~

Wally wakes up from his dreamless sleep. With sudden alarm, he looks around. He's still in the same room, except he's tied up to a pillar. He can't see anything. It's dark. Eerily dark. From time to time, he'd hear banging. The banging doesn't sound far from him but it wasn't loud.

It is almost impossible to see in this room. Wally could make out only a few outlines but they prove to be useless. He starts feeling pain rush up to his body, especially his eye. It throbs, seeking for any type of nourishment to stop the pain. Wally starts to struggle. The tied ropes around his hands and legs do anything but loosen. Even worse, they tighten. Wally can feel the blood circulation in his wrists and ankles slowly cut off. It hurts.

Suddenly, light floods in the room. He squints his eyes from the sudden brightness. The janitor hears some one whistling as he walks in, closes the doors, and dims the lights. Wally blinks his eyes rapidly in an attempt to get his eyes adjust.

"Hmm, awake already. I must've kept you waiting."

Wally doesn't need to see to know who that is. He already knows that it is Joey. He struggles harder in his restraints.

"Woah woah, take it down a notch would ya? Don't want you hurting yourself to badly."

Wally let's out a low growl.

"Ya say that yet ya punched me in the face."

Joey shrugs and smiles.

"That was self defense. This is a different matter of business."

He continues to struggle. He is determined to not let Joey do anything bad to him. Joey sighs and takes out a book, opening it to a page.

"Wally, if you keep struggling you're going to make the process harder and, who knows. You could end up worse than what I intend you to be."

Wally, with a new found fear, stops struggling. He looks around. Sammy is still in a container besides Joey. He's banging on the container's walls repeatedly and is supposedly screaming. He looks desperate.

Joey clears his throat and looks down at the page, checking if it's the right one. Wally scans over the memories he has. The waterworks start to break.

"I-I… I don't want to die."

Tears start pouring from his eyes. Joey looks up at him.

"Well, you're not going to die. Rather, you're going to be something entirely new."

Wally sobs loudly.

"I just want everythin' to be like it was before the army came dangit! Why did it have to change? Why did everyone have to go through this Joey? Tell me why!"

Joey looks down. He almost looks like he regrets his actions, but that look immediately vanishes when he scrunches his eyebrows.

"Life changes constantly Wally. Sometimes people need to suffer in order to have good things happen."

"HOW THE FUCK IS ANY OF THIS GOOD!"

Wally glares daggers at Joey. He keeps staring at the book. Sighing once more, he looks up at Wally and grins.

"I promise that I'll make you _perfect_."

( I was going to make Joey and Wally's fight scene a comic but I gave up so here's some sketches of Wally and ink Sammy)

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that there is a picture of Wally bleeding ink but be lucky that I didn't describe his torture. I was this close *almost touches fingers*
> 
> The next chapter is gonna (probably) have more dialogue than interactions, unless I switch something up a bit. Who knows. We're getting closer to Henry meeting Sammy again. *wink wonk*
> 
> Also, can you guess what Wally became? I'll immediately say that his ritual was worse than Sammy's because of a certain reason *kinda looks over to MatPat's theory video*


	13. Corruption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally see Joey Studios fall into ruin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to get this series done soon due to my anxiety on the whole Net Neutrality situation and how we possibly are going to pay for shit we use everyday. Please bare with me.

Joey Drew Studios has been permanently shut down.

~~~

Sammy trudges along the wall. His body shook violently and seems like it will fall at any moment. His thoughts swarm with voices. His voice. Thoughts stab his mind. It hurts. It fucking hurts.

How did everything fall?

How did everything fall?

Oh yeah. _Joey_.

~~~

Wally's defeat was sickening to look at. The poor janitor was tied there. His whole body was limp as ink came out of every orifice. His eyes were still open. Dear lord did Sammy wish that they were closed. Wally's eyes showed sorrow, defeat, and acceptance all at once. Those once lively brown eyes were drained to a soulless gray.

What made things worse was Joey and his sick sense of joy. When Wally's soul was being processed for who knows how long, Joey walked up to Wally's corpse and just stared at it. He stared deep within his gray eyes. Then he smiled and caressed his cheek, almost like a mother would to a child. He'd wipe away the inky tears, snot, and saliva and just smile at him. Sammy banged on the jar. He screeched so loudly that he was sure that Joey heard him. He still remembers the thoughts that were running through his head.

'Stop! STOP THAT! STOP DOING THAT YOU FUCKING PSYCO CREEP!'

'He doesn't deserve this! STOP RUBBING HIS CHEEK!'

'STOP!'

Sammy continued to bang and screech at the man. Even though Wally was 'dead' already, he just wanted to strangle Joey until he too was choking on ink.

That was only one event out of the entire corruption. The corruption of Joey Studios.

~~~

Workers either left or got caught in Joey's schtick. The entire studio was becoming a barren building. Joey noticed this and decided to chant his last ritual that would effect, not only the remaining workers, but himself as well. Joey wanted to make himself be something special. Something strong and nothing like the Searchers. Something to be feared of.

It was a long process for him to figure it out but some how he did. He chanted those very few words, and felt pain. He felt pain and laughed. He laughed and laughed until ink made it impossible to laugh. Joey twitched for awhile, but then became limp. The puddles of ink increased around his corpse. They moved a tad. Then a bit more until suddenly something burst out of it. He limped towards Joey's body. He picked his body up and stored it safely within a coffin. This new form was a strange experience for him. Quickly, he went into a bathroom and looked in a mirror. He laughed, and laughed, and he laughed.

He is the ink demon.

Bendy.  
~~~

The other workers screamed as ink flooded their body's. Having no place for their soul's to go through, they stayed within the ink. Voices, screams, talking, yelling, everything flooded their minds until they escaped it or embraced it. It was hell either way. Escaping it just meant that they'd become a Searcher. There is a damn good reason why they are called that. They'll search endlessly for a heart. A heart. Any heart. Searchers didn't realize that at first until they saw that their corpses had open holes in them. The sense of need came rushing over them like animals, but they were disappointed when they saw what they were looking for was gone.

How could they be gone so quickly?

It was them. The fused ones. The ones that Joey had fun toying with. You can hear their voices merge over each other for dominance as they devour the hearts of once living people. To make them 'perfect' they say. The Searchers would attempt to ambush them- no… her, but she was too strong. She claims to be Alice Angel, but they all know she wasn't. She is only two delusional people in one body. They didn't bother much with her. They just wanted hearts. They only want to become stable. They need to be stable. They can hear the voices get louder.

They need hearts.

~~~

Sammy drags himself along a wall. He realized how weak he is compared to the other Searchers. Hell, he's probably the weakest one here. Anything can send him back to the ink puddles. For once in a long time, he is scared. For so long, he's been looking for a heart but all of them have been taken, and the only way to get one now is by killing a Butcher Gang member. He knows that he'll fail.

His sanity is rotting. He is becoming animalistic. He notices sometimes that he'll find a corpse and quickly crawl up to it, growling to warn any other searchers around that this was his heart. That it would be for him and him only. He'd snap out of it once he realizes that the heart isn't there.

A splashing noise catches his attention. He looks behind him only to be greeted by a Searcher stuffed with thick ink. It growls at him, and he growls back. Sammy tries to find an exit but the Searcher has already surrounded him. It drools over him, ready to take the kill. Sammy screeches as loudly as he can as an attempt to not get devoured by that gluttonous Searcher. Before it's mouth made contact with Sammy, something squished it. It is shoved down into the ink puddles with a stomach churning scrunch.

Sammy looks up to see who destroyed the Searcher. He could swear that something inside of him dropped when he saw him. Bendy looms over him, allowing ink to drip off his eyes and onto the floor. Sammy begins to whimper. Being devoured by that Searcher is much better than being stomped on the ink demon himself.

Bendy stares down at Sammy, almost with a confused glance. Sammy quivers under him, while also making the, rather annoying yet cute, noises. Bendy picks him up and inspects him. He doesn't have a heart yet remains human in some way. He looks older in design than the others. He still bore tuning fork hands and a rigged body whilst others have human hands and smooth inky torsos. Slowly, he puts Sammy back down.

As Sammy was being put down, he couldn't help but be confused. Why wasn't the demon killing him? Why wasn't he killing him for being weak? Why wasn't he killing him for being useless? Suddenly, something plops right infront of Sammy.

A heart.

He looks up at Bendy in disbelief. The demon stares back with no emotion.

"Eat."

Sammy, scared of what Bendy will do, quickly grabs onto the heart and eats it like a snake. It was a hard process but eventually he was done. Sammy felt different. He got taller, a tad bit more bulky, and a lot stronger. He also felt something beating inside of him, or was that his imagination? Another plopping noise is heard again. He looks to see another heart. He looks up at Bendy to see him smiling slightly.

"Again."

He took the heart and practically inhales it. Minute by minute, heart after heart, gulp after gulp, Sammy feels powerful. Different but powerful. His body is different now. Much, much more different. He has a longer torso, and limbs. He has human-ish hands, but stubby feet that slightly sinks to the ground. His sight and senses improved significantly. He almost felt like himself, but he isn't himself.

Bendy pats his shoulder, grabbing his attention. He points at a cabinet that's nearby. Sammy walks towards it nervously. Wait. Why is he nervous? He looks inside of it and finds some dusty suspensors.

_'These look familiar.'_

Sammy tries them on. They fit on him like a glove. Despite having no mirror around, he thinks that he looks quite well in them. Bendy snaps his attention back to him. Sammy stares at demon nervously, yet, with a new sense of comfort. Why is he feeling comfortable? Bendy smiles at him and gestures Sammy to come towards him. The nervousness and fear has died down and all that replaced it was the comfort. Comfort that he barely got. Comfort that he wish he had. Comfort that he once had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters left
> 
> The inky sheep with drenched wool  
> is now used as a live tool,  
> his mind now scrambled like a bubbling brew  
> and never to remember the people he once knew,  
> the comfort, the smiles, and the multiple praises  
> has made the sheep go into multiple dazes,  
> he trusted the demon with all his hearts  
> even when the painful abuse starts,  
> desperate and shaky the sheep freaks out  
> attempting to calm the demon down,  
> he knew no one else but that malevolent spirit  
> not even the Shepard Dog, who's mind lost it.
> 
> So here he is, the poor Shepard Dog  
> who turned on the machine with multiple cogs,  
> he just wants to see his friends again  
> especially the wooly sheep who made amends.


	14. You guys wanted fluff so here it is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry re-visits Joey Studios after 30 years of trauma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ONE MORE FUCKING CHAPTER TO GO BITCHES!
> 
> Sure, I'll write about Wally and Searcher Sammy from time to time but MOTHERFUCKER WE'RE ALMOST DONE! 
> 
> You don't know how ready I am for this shit to end. I started this fic back in August because of a drawing/picture I did and now its blossomed into this hell! Holy fuck!
> 
> Any who, Enjoy!

Henry is starting to get sick of this entire thing. Thirty years later and he still has to deal with trauma from, not only World War ll, but also from the current events. All he wanted to do was revisit his work place and talk to Joey, but no. He has to deal with ink, monsters, and insanity.

His last visit to this place was… concerning. All he remembers was talking to Joey, then the other co-workers, mainly Wally, and that's about it. He remembers freaking out and being triggered at some point. The fact that he already saw two of his former co-workers die on the battlefield before the visit did not help him at all. To be honest, he's kind of happy that he didn't see Sammy. He didn't want Sammy to see him like that, but at the same time, Sammy went missing. He did warn Sammy about that damned machine. Henry wanted to tell Wally about it but he couldn't. Joey was probably listening.

Henry makes his way towards the exit. Obviously, Joey isn't going to show himself and seeing Bendy literally come to life almost gave him a heart attack. He needs to get out before he gets himself killed. Feeling a sense of hope, he approach's towards the ink drenched steps but got hit in the back of the head. He fell down with an 'oof' and attempts to look at the attacker. All he saw is an inky figure with some sort of bendy mask.

_"Rest your head, it's time for bed."_

Just like that, Henry passed out.

~~~

Henry starts to fade back into consciousness. He hears the sound of someone talking.

_"There we go now. Nice and tight. We wouldn't want our sheep roaming away now, do we?"_

That voice!

_"No, we wouldn't."_

Henry blinks his eyes, desperate to adjust them to the lighting. His vision clears up and he stares at the figure standing in front of him. Tall, that's for sure. It's the same figure that hit him over the head. The only thing that proves that this is Sammy, besides his voice, is the suspensors he's wearing. They still look like his, save for the patches and dull tint to them.

_"I must admit I am honored you came all the way down here to visit me."_

'Why does his voice sound hushed?'

_"It almost makes what I'm about to do seem cruel."_

'Do what? Why am I tied? Why is my mouth gagged?

_"But the believers must honor their savior. I must have him notice me."_

' **Who** notice you? **Who** is that savior? What is going on?'

_"Wait. You look familiar to me… that face…"_

Henry attempts to speak but the cloth prevents him. He tries harder but they only come out as muffles.

_"Are you trying to tell me something?"_

Henry nods his head, slightly feeling pain due to the lead pipe from before. Sammy supposedly looks at him wearily. After a good five seconds, he begins to take off the cloth around Henry's mouth, allowing him to speak. Henry moves his lips around for a moment and clears his throat.

"Sammy… Is that you?"

The inky figure moves a little out of shock. He looks surprised.

_"You know me?"_

For a small moment, Henry's heart shattered. Yes, he has gotten over his love for Sammy ages ago but the fact that he straight up doesn't remember him at all hurts.

"Of course, we were, well, good ' _friends_.' I worked on the animations while you wrote the music."

Sammy tilts his head in confusion.

"You were moody but you cared a lot about other people. You didn't like Wally as much but you still cared. People feared but respected you in a sense."

Henry looked to the side, a little unsure of himself. Sammy stood stalk still, thinking.

"You were great friends with Norman and Susie."

He flinches a little at the mention of their names. Henry started to list off memories he has of them.

"You helped me out a lot back then. You comforted me while I cried. You helped me hide from someone who tried to beat me up. You allowed me to sleep in your apartment at such a short notice, and those are only a few things you did. Oh, and uhh, you said you liked me. Like as in love."

Sammy looks frustrated, confused, and sad. He's mad at himself. Henry starts to struggle a little. He's trying to help Sammy remember but he doesn't know what else to say.

"When I came back to visit you guys, Wally said you went missing and I noticed that the ink machine was built. I warned you about that machine. I don't know what happened but Joey must've done something to you, to everybody. I don't know how but he did. Everyone was so stressed, so overworked, so dead when visited. I felt extremely bad for Norman since he was barely getting any respect. Wally was irritated. Susie on the other hand… who knows what happened to her. Everything cha-"

" _AAAa_ aAA _AaA_ aaA _aa_ Aaa _AaAaAAA_ AAAAAAAA!"

Sammy falls to his knees and clutches his head. He continues to scream loudly. His mask starts to slip off his face. Eventually it falls off, revealing only a gaping mouth. Henry snaps himself out of his shock and struggles against the ropes. The ropes broke easily and Henry looks down at Sammy with worry.

The screaming continues. Sammy doesn't know how to take it. All he did remember is that Joey turned him into this, Wally took care of him then turned into an inkcarnation, Bendy saved him and made him stronger, and since then he worshipped Bendy. Now he has memories pounding themselves in his brain. It all came back. Everything came back and it hurt. He doesn't know what to do, how to feel, how to think. He hates himself for all of this. Why did he forget? _How did he forget?_

Suddenly, he felt something rub against his back. Soothing circles calm him down. This is familiar. Why is this familiar…

Then it hit him.

\----

_Crying. There's a lot of crying. Soft quiet sobs made its way to my ears. I didn't want to intrude on anything but I had to see who was sobbing. I open the closest only to find him in there. He looked like a distressed dog. I didn't know what to do. I was already next to him and I wanted to leave. As I was about to get up, he saw me. We panicked. I tried to remain cool while he balled his eyes out. Slowly, I rubbed my knuckles against his back. How else should I have calmed him down? I never calmed someone down from crying before. I did what my mother did when I was younger. He calmed down quickly. He became jello in my hands. I started to realize what I'm doing and I get rude. I was about to leave but he begs for me to keep him company. I obliged. I get tired and I fall asleep on him. He doesn't mind._

_Henry is calm now._

\----

Sammy quiets himself down as Henry awkwardly moves his knuckles in circular motions. Despite being made of ink, Henry's hand doesn't phase right through him. Sammy relaxes into Henry, purring slightly. He doesn't care how weak he looks, he doesn't care if he could be sent back to the ink puddles, he just embraced this moment.

Henry awkwardly pulls Sammy to his chest and hugs him. This felt weird.

"So um, you remember now, don't you?"

Sammy just nods.

"… How do you feel?"

"……… Scared."

"Why?"

"… I just do. I remember people who won't remember me, or barely do. They suffered the same fate I did."

There was silence.

"…… I'm sorry."

Henry perks up slightly.

"Why?"

"You warned me about the Ink Machine. I didn't do much about it. We all knew that Joey was planning something and he wasn't being himself. I didn't warn anybody. I fell right into his web of ink and lies and all that jazz."

They both shared an awkward chuckle. This feels weird but nice. There was a tiring silence that laid upon them.

_**CLANK CLONK** _

Sammy quickly gets off of Henry and scrambles to his stubby feet. Henry gets up as well, confused.

"What's wrong?"

Sammy frantically looks around at the ceiling. He didn't even bother to put his mask back on.

"Bendy's in the vents."

Henry's expression drops. Quickly, he grabs his axe, grabs Sammy's wrist, and bolts for the exit. Sammy freaks out and tries to stop Henry, but he is stronger. The adrenaline rushes through Henry as he chops down wooden planks and pesky Searchers. The rush stops when his axe breaks. He pants for a moment, still holding onto Sammy's wrist. Sammy stands there, trembling.

"I don't have a good feeling about this. My lord will be mad."

Henry catches his breath and looks up at Sammy.

"Lord?"

He nods.

"Yes, Lord Bendy."

Henry looks back down and waves his hand dismissively at Sammy.

"Forget about him. He's nothing but a blob monster."

"Haha, real funny."

"No seriously, he's just ink. Plus why do you even worship him?"

Sammy looks at him dully.

"Because he saved me from my doom and made me stronger."

Henry straightens his back out and looks Sammy dead in the 'eyes.'

"Anything else? Does he even appreciate you in anyway?"

He didn't realize that Henry would push this subject to a point where Sammy felt uncomfortable, but he did have a point. That was the only thing Bendy did, and Sammy repaid him multiple times but never got the attention he wanted. Sometimes he'd get hurt by him.

"…… No."

"As I speculated."

They continue onward. Sammy was left with his thoughts for a split second until Bendy popped in front of them. Henry bolts towards the other hallway, practically dragging Sammy along. The adrenaline is back, the panic is back, everything is back. Sammy stumbles towards Henry's direction, looking back from time to time. The last time he looked behind him, he saw Bendy, mere inches from him. He let out a small scream, pushed Henry in the doorway, and slams the door closed. He trembles, waiting for Bendy to leave.

Henry rubs his head and gets up. Sammy slowly gets off of the door and stops shaking. He felt his form slightly droop to the floor. Henry pats Sammy's shoulder, startling him slightly. He turns to the old man and cocks a nonexistent eyebrow at him. Henry notices and smiles a tad.

"I guess you're stuck with me."

Bonus 1:

A can rolls towards them. Henry stupidly calls out to the person there.

"Hello? Someone there? I know you're in here. Come out and show yourself."

Sammy mentally face palmed before he starts to hide behind Henry, somewhat realizing that they could possibly be attacked. Foot steps are heard for a moment, then they see a lanky cartoon character walk towards them.

"Boris?"

Boris looks at the two, puzzled for a moment until he realizes who they are. Excitedly, he bounds towards Sammy and hugs the hell out of him. Sammy looks at Boris and awkwardly hugs him back. He then looks at Henry, who's equally as confused as he is. Boris gets off of him and notices the confusion in his eyes. He doesn't understand why he's confused until he remembers that he looks like Boris the Wolf. He backs off of him and starts to play out a scene.

The scene shows him sitting down and supposedly talking to something on the ground. Henry and Sammy don't get it. Boris looks disappointed but plays out another scene. He is shown punching someone to the ground, then fighting them, and then being knocked unconscious. Henry is starting to daze off, but Sammy still couldn't figure it out. His ears lower in sadness. Boris plays out another scene. He is shown to be grabbed by the wrist by someone. He looks scared. His head slowly moves forward and his back neck trembles. He looks to Sammy only to see a more puzzled look from him. Henry is trying to keep himself awake. Boris face palms and makes both his hands grab 'something.' He's walking around, moving both his hands in a way where he's making that nonexistent object move side to side. He's whistling as well. Sammy strikes this as familiar, but doesn't know where or who's done something like that.

Boris stops and 'sighs.' Henry falls asleep on Sammy, snoring slightly. Sammy carefully picks up Henry and follows a disappointed Boris.

Why did Boris remind him of someone he knows?

Bonus 2:

Henry sits there and stares at a wall. In his lap are two people. One being Boris, who is relaxing and moving his foot back and forth to a beat. The other being Sammy, who some how managed to close his eyes and think. Henry rubs Sammy's head and pats Boris's ears. The wolf smiles and shakes his head along with the nonexistent beat. Sammy starts to 'purr' slightly, nuzzling his head into Henry. Henry smiles.

This feels right.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I legit just got a notification from Batim Amino and (since I post this fic on there first) I got a commented that says (in fancy a fancy font) "NO JUST HELLL NAAHH"
> 
> Your guy's comments fuel me. It makes my day to read them, trust me it does.


	15. I've been working on this shit for 5 months

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has became human, some how, and Henry talks to the fam.
> 
> !!spoiler alert!  
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> Henry wears an old man vest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The pic was started back in August due to a picture I created in August. Wtf.

It's finally over. The journey through this hell is over. Henry looks around him. What he saw is unbelievable. Ink, people, confusion. Multiple co-workers lay there, slowly getting up and looking around, grunting as they did. They looked at each other but were then hit with the sudden realization that those were their co-workers and not the horrid beings they were so used to seeing.

Henry stood there smiling, watching all the reunions. He starts to walk around the building. As much as he wanted to leave so badly, there are people here who need a little help. He looks in the hallways and rooms. Some people are with each other while others are alone. Henry helps the lonely people because they're confused. The more he walked around, the more he felt miserable. Was this because he had to abandon Boris and Sammy?

The scene plays over and over in his head. They got ambushed by Searchers and Butcher Gang members. They couldn't fend them all off. Henry was searching for something that could help them, but then the room began to rumble and various objects blocked Henry from his two friends. Henry tried to break the rubble but he couldn't. Sammy was screaming for Henry to run. He had no choice but to listen. He still doesn't know what happened to them.

He sheds a small tear. He doesn't even know if they died or if they're still living.

'There's only one way to find out.'

Henry sped walk through the halls, trying to get to that room. He sped past everything. A small pump of adrenaline is flowing through him. It sort of reminds Henry of when he was trying to get the finished animations to Joey.

He found the room. The rubble was barely there now and he can walk right through. Slowly, Henry enters the room to be met with nothing. His heart tore at the edges. He blinks his eyes and looks around again. Nothing. Henry walks into the room, slowly walking towards the middle then stopping. He looks around again.

He then notices something in the distant corner of the room. Henry walks curiously towards the shadowy figures, but stops right when he saw who they are. In the corner of the room sat Sammy Lawrence and Wally Franks, huddled together, holding onto each other like there was going to be no tomorrow, like this was their _final moment_.

Henry approach's them with caution, careful of waking them, if they aren't awake already. He sits down in front of them and stares at them, observing them. They look like they're frozen in place.

  
Henry sits in front of them, patting both their shoulders. Both of them lift there heads up and gasp. Henry backs up a little in shock. They look around frantically, searching for something until they look at each other. They stare at each other awkwardly until Wally starts to giggle. Then he starts to laugh. Then they both start to laugh. Tears pour out of their eyes, laughing and sobbing and screaming and clinging onto each other. Crying and crying. Laughing and laughing. They grip onto each other tightly, turning their knuckles white. Henry doesn't know what to think about all of this. He speaks up.

"Sammy? Wally?"

They widen their eyes in shock and whip their heads around to see their friend looking at them in horror. Sammy lets go of Wally and wearily crawls to Henry. Wally trembles, touch starved and almost desperate for comfort. He tries to keep himself from rushing up to them. Sammy grabs Henry's legs and cry.

"WE DIDN'T DIE HENRY! WE'RE FUCKING FREE!"

Henry stares at the disheveled man in front of him. Sammy is now hugging Henry's torso tightly, gripping his clothing. Wally reaches a hand out to them but hesitates, putting it back to his shaking side. Henry realizes Wally's hesitation and lifts up an arm, inviting him for a hug. Wally practically jumps towards him, hugging the hell out of him, and muffling his screams in Henry's clothes. Henry sits there, hugging the two traumatized men.

'They're going to need a lot of therapy.'

~~~

Henry holds both Wally and Sammy under his arms, as if he is taking care of two drunk friends. Wally is still trembling and gripping onto Henry's clothing. Sammy is still mumbling incoherent words and gripping Henry's shirt with one hand. Up ahead, he can see Norman, Susie, Allison, Thomas, and Shawn, coincidentally, gathered around something or someone crouching. Henry calls out to them.

"Hey guys!"

He gains their attention immediately. Thomas and Norman run up to them. Thomas speaks up.

"What the hell happened to them?"

Norman smacks him upside the head.

"It's obviously trauma!"

"Well sorry for not fucking noticing!"

Henry puts a foot out in front of them, attempting to prevent a fight. They both look at him.

"Now is not the time to fight. You guys need to help me."

They both nod to each other and hold their anger for another time. Thomas takes Wally under his arm and leads him towards the group. Norman tries to pull Sammy away from Henry but couldn't. Norman looks at Henry for a little help. He smiles back unsurely.

"I can handle him."

  
Norman nods but still sticks by Henry's side. The closer they got, the closer he can hear the grunts come from the crouching figure. They slowly get up, wobbling as they did. Sammy looks up and scrunches his eyebrows, immediately noticing who the figure is.

"JOEY!"

Not even a second later, Sammy sprints towards him, pulling his fist backwards, ready to pummel him. Joey quickly looks up at Sammy and panics. Before he could escape the situation, Sammy's fist collides with his jaw. Joey falls to the floor, clutching his face. Sammy bashes Joey's face for five seconds until Norman has to pull him away.

"That's enough Sammy, that's enough."

Sammy bares his teeth, attempting to lunge towards Joey. He shouts curses at the top of his lungs, screaming at his former boss. Joey stares fearfully at Sammy, still clutching onto his jaw. It took a good minute for Sammy to calm down. Everyone stares at him awkwardly as his legs give out and he sobs. Norman slowly lowers him to his knees, gently patting his back as well. Sammy screams out all his frustrations.

  
"YOU WERE ALWAYS A SHADY MAN!"

"YOU ALWAYS TELL US TO DO THINGS THAT WE WORK OVERTIME FOR AND ALL YOU GAVE US IS SMALL CASH!"

"YOU FUCKING KNOCKED WALLY UNCONSCIOUS AND TURNED HIM INTO BORIS!"

"I'M A DUMBASS FOR GOING TO YOUR OFFICE CAUSE GUESS WHERE THAT GOT ME!"

"MOST OF NOBODY KNEW WHAT HAPPENED TO ME UNTIL IT WAS TOO FUCKING LATE!"

"IT'S ALL MY FAULT THAT THIS HAPPENED!"

"I COULD'VE WARNED YOU ALL!"

"I SHOULD'VE WARNED YOU ALL!"

The room echoes Sammy's anger until it dissipates, leaving only the sound of his sobs. Everyone stares at him in shock. Nobody knew what to say. Sammy spoke up again.

"I should've told you all what Henry warned me about all those damn years ago."

Silence weighed on them all. Wally had to say something, despite being scared.

"I mean, it wasn't really your fault. Sure ya didn't tell us but knowing how we were back then, or at least me, I would've still worked here and not listen to what ya said. For crying out! I-I still worked here despite finding ya as a Searcher!"

Shawn looks at him in shock.

"He was a searcher the whole time he was missing?"

Wally nods his head.

"Of course he was. He was trapped in a container for two months until he escaped. Two months of isolation. I can only imagine how that was."

Thomas scratches his head with his unoccupied arm, then snaps his fingers.

"So that's what that weird part of the machine was for!"

Norman looks at him oddly.

"What the what now?"

"No no! Every time Joey needed some sort of help with the machine, it was always this one weird, peculiar part of it. Didn't look like it produced ink at all. I suppose it helped turn us into those wretched things,  _right Joey?"_

They all turn to him, watching him nod slowly. Shawn clears his throat.

"Well, that's good that, that's answered but why were there so many voices in the puddles. I swear I can still hear them."

Susie and Allison speak up at the same time.

_ "I don't know about that." _

They both cover their mouths and stare at each other in shock. Joey coughs for a minute, muttering only one word.

"Employees."

Sammy's face turns red.

"Why YOU-"

Norman holds Sammy back as he thrashes around.

Henry walks up to Joey, kneeling down to him. Joey looks away shamefully.

"When we had that argument, I told you not to build the machine. Why did you proceed to build it? Did you think I wouldn't find out? Did you think I'd die in the war and never find out?"

Joey whips his head to him, widening his eyes.

"Dear god, no Henry!"

"Then why did you proceed to build it?"

Joey shuts his mouths and looks away from him again. Henry cocks an eyebrow and chuckles a tad.

"You're not going to say why?"

Joey shakes his head. Henry slowly gets up, stretching his back out in the process.

"I'm not surprised, but I have an idea why you did it, I'm just a little confused on why you brought everyone with you."

Henry looks around to see his friends looking at him. Susie and Allison speak up.

_"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"_

They both cover their mouths again. Henry chuckles.

"I'm about sixty six years old. My bones are starting to kill me."

Almost everyone dropped their jaws in surprise, especially Sammy. Wally stutters.

"It has been thirty years and I'm still eighteen! Last time I saw ya was when you were thirty seven! Now I'm still eighteen and you're sixty six! Did my life get prolonged or will I suddenly be forty eight tomorrow?"

Joey shakes his head slowly.

"You'll still age, your life only paused."

Wally speaks up again.

"Wait! What year is it?"

Henry cracks his knuckles.

"Let's see, it was 1941 when I left, so it's 1971."

"HOLY SMOKES!"

They all start to look confused, puzzled, and frazzled. Norman widens his eyes in realization.

"Oh no… Oh god no."

Shawn cocks an eyebrow.

"What is it Norman?"

He looks up at him with wide eyes.

"My family, I-I left them all behind!"

Joey's head lowers down a tad in regret. Norman has tears peeking out of his eyes.

"My wife must've thought I was dead or something and my kids! My son and daughters. Oh Lordy please!"

Susie went over to Norman and pats his back, looking horrified as well.

"What about all of our families."

Joey lowers his head even more as some guilt rushes through him. Wally scratches his stubble.

"I don't think ma cares about me and I never saw pa in my entire life. I kinda worry about her."

"Fuck her!"

They all turn to Sammy in shock. He stares back with confidence.

"During my time as a Searcher, Wally took me with him and took care of me and after seeing the 'ma' he has, I can say that she's the worst fucking person I've ever met."

Wally tries to speak up but Sammy cuts him off.

"Wally, I know you're going to say that she's coping, but coping isn't turing into an alcoholic and beating your kid then telling them you love them. That's called being an abusive and deceptive parent that doesn't know how to manage their own life. You even have the scars to prove it."

Wally's mouth closes as his face drops. He lowers his head and rubs his arm. Thomas rubs his back, attempting to comfort him. Shawn scratches his neck.

"I had a girlfriend but she might've thought I was dead. She's probably with someone else now. I hope she's happy."

Allison fiddles with her fingers, looking down bashfully.

"My mom, dad, and my brother supported me a lot when they found out I was working for Joey Studios. They must be heart broken now, thinking their only daughter is deceased."

Susie sighs.

"I can say the same as well, especially since my family lives in California. They wanted me to be happy and now that I realize it, I wasn't happy. I was obsessed."

Thomas pats Wally's back, clearing his throat.

"I only had an Uncle and a cousin. They were nice to have around at times but I was usually on my own."

There is a thick silence that settled in the room. Most people are crying at the memory of their family. For all they knew, they thought they were dead.

"A brother."

Everyone turned towards Joey.

"I had a younger brother. He is one of the reasons that I would stay up after hours and help you guys. I remember that he'd always wake me up and ask me to get him a glass of water or get him his toothbrush or something. Eventually I stayed up and would wait for him to ask me for a favor. That and help him with bullies. I hope he's still alive."

They stare at him blankly. Henry smiles slightly at him.

"Okay Joey."

Allison twirls her long hair around, looking to the side of her.

"Now what?"

Henry stares at her, looking lost. Everyone stares at Henry for an answer. Henry, in all honesty, doesn't know. He came here to see Joey again only to be met with the goal to leave this place. Now he has many co-workers that need to get back onto their feet. After a few seconds, Henry sighs.

"You eight are going to be staying with me for now. I'll help everyone else slowly get back up to their feet shortly. I have a feeling that most of your families might help you as well. If not, your still staying by me."

They all nod in agreement and head for the exit. Before Henry leaves, Sammy stops him, pulling him back a tad. Henry tilts his head in confusion.

"Is something wrong Sammy?"

He nods, scratching the back of his head.

"Last time we saw each other thirty years before all of this happened, we were in a relationship. What do we do about it now?"

Henry stands there stalk still. He almost forgotten about their relationship completely. He thinks as Sammy twiddles his thumbs around and pulls at his suspensor. Henry chuckles and shakes his head.

"There's nothing we can do about it. After I came back from the war, I wasn't myself. I felt empty, lonely, devoid of anything. Linda helped me to my feet but I can't be committed to a serious relationship. It'd be hard for both me and you. I don't want to do that to you. Plus you had, or have that Bendy worship thing stuck in your head. You'd probably struggle in being in a serious relationship as well."

"Oh."

Sammy lowers his gaze downward, slightly disappointed. He held his fingers together.

"But."

He looks up at the older man with a gleam of hope in his eyes.

"It's okay with me if you want to cuddle or hug me. Little things like that."

Sammy smiles a tad.

"Better than nothing."

They laugh together, walking out of the building, holding each other's hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has been giving this kudos and leaving comments. I love to see your guy's reactions to this and it makes my day all the time. Also thank you for sticking around with me through this. It's been a weird journey. Any who, here's the story. 
> 
> Extras
> 
> What the story WAS going to be  
> Originally, I went into this thinking I'd only write one or five chapters. Then I made the mistake of mentioning the ink machine. So this is where I was originally going with this story (after Sammy turns into a searcher). Sammy is stuck in a very small room, like a cabinet sized room with a small window looking out into Joey's Office. Sammy is stuck there the entire time. He witnesses Henry talking to Joey at some point but Henry doesn't find him. Eventually Sammy goes into a stage of Isolation which makes him insane. He finds Bendy (who is its own separate being from Joey) and Bendy keeps him company and helps him out. Eventually Bendy breaks Sammy out (after turning everyone into searchers) and Sammy worships him. 
> 
> Ending  
> Basically Henry finds Sammy, Sammy finds out that he's Henry, Henry still has feelings for Sammy (so does Sammy), Bendy realizes this love and turns Henry into an ink monster as well so they stay together or some shit idk. The more I look at this ending, the more I cringe. I'm happy I changed it cause trust me, I was unsure of this ending as well.
> 
> :')


End file.
